Season 6: Europe
by Tom Lennox
Summary: Based on the S5 finale. On the run from China, Jack Bauer finds himself in Paris and London where CTU is based for the 2012 Olympics. When a diabolical plot is uncovered, Jack must stop a ruthless new enemy, before his old enemies catch up with him.
1. Prequel

THREE MONTHS AFTER THE END OF DAY 5

THREE MONTHS AFTER THE END OF DAY 5

THE PENTAGON / WHITE HOUSE / CTU-LOS ANGELES

Audrey Raines is on a teleconference with President James Heller in the White House, Karen Hayes at Homeland Security, and Bill Buchanan at CTU Los Angeles.

HELLER: Any news, people?

KAREN: Unfortunately, no. As you know, China has launched their own satellites into orbit and are disrupting our signals. We believe he is being held in a prison on the Siberian border according to Howard Bern's testimony one year ago.

AUDREY: Bern, that despicable coward.

HELLER (nodding): Audrey, your end at DOD?

AUDREY: We've authorized an increase in reconnssaince flyovers of northern China from our bases in Fairbanks and Okinawa but the Chinese response has been increasingly aggressive and we are hesitant to risk the lives of our pilots.

HELLER: So there's nothing left for us to do right now but pray.

AUDREY (stifling a sob): Yeah.

PRESIDENT HELLER: Audrey, I promise that the resources of this country will be devoted to bringing Jack home. He's an American hero. (Pause) Bill, there is another matter at hand right now.

BUCHANAN: Yes, Mr. President?

HELLER: We've picked up a heavy increase in terrorist chatter around the world, and with the London Olympics beginning only weeks from now, we're not going to take any chances. The European Union has requested CTU backup and a CTU presence in its member states during the during of the Olympic Games to safeguard against any attack and to respond if anything were to happen. We're drawing up a list of CTU's most experienced agents and needless to say, Los Angeles has a disproportionate number given your distinguished history.

BUCHANAN: It's an honor I wish we did not have, sir, but whatever your orders are, we are ready to answer the call.

HELLER: This is a delicate situation as we will be operating outside of American borders, but again, this is a critical situation and we need the best we have. Bill, I know I can count on you and your staff.

BUCHANAN: Thank you, Mr. President.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

There is a shot of a typical Middle Eastern-looking street and the camera zooms in on a cement building. A female Australian soldier named PRIVATE LAUREN SUMMERS is crying in a dilapidated apartment overlooking a crowded bazaar and the sounds of prayers and street vendors is heard. On the wall is a banner in both Arabic and English reading "Mesopotamia Jihad Brigade".

An Iraqi terrorist named BASHIR ARSHAD flips through Summers' personal things, and we see pictures of her with her parents on a beach, hanging out with her best friend at a mall, and lying on a bed with her cat. Lauren is a beautiful young women but she is covered with blood and acid-caused burns and shivering.

A second terrorist gets up from a rusty chair and holds a knife to Lauren's genital area.

TERRORIST: "We have shown you mercy because you were a woman, but I am tired of your silence. I will ask you one final time. What is the route your General Russell will be taking on his visit to Tikrit tomorrow?"

LAUREN: "Please….I….don't know….I just want to go home….please show some mercy, my Mum needs me, I only signed up so I could go to college…so I can take care of her, she's sick and…."

ARSHAD laughs.

BASHIR ARSHAD: The sweeter, sadder story you have, the more sensational the news when it reaches your country.

Bashir pulled hard on her red hair, ripping out several strands as Lauren lets down a wrenching, ear-splitting scream.

BASHIR: WHAT IS THE ROUTE AND TIMETABLE OF COMMANDER RUSSELL'S TRIP TO TIKRIT TOMORROW!!

Lauren continues to cry.

Suddenly the door opens and another terrorist, AL-SAMOUD bursts in.

AL-SAMOUD: "Abort the Tikrit attack, our friends in Europe have responded to our plan. Divert all the resources to that one."

BASHIR: "Are you sure these friends you have in Europe can be trusted. I hear there are infidels among them."

AL-SAMOUD: "But they share our goal. Allah is guiding me, shaheed, we will not fail. But keep up our other smaller attacks in Iraq to keep them off balance.

BASHIR: "Yes, Sheikh. Our people in the Green Zone will be alerted."

AL-SAMOUD: "Good."

He nodded at Lauren. "We don't need her anymore." He hands a gun to Bashir.

AL-SAMOUD: "You have earned this honor, mujahid."

Al-Samoud walks through the door and closes it behind him.

BASHIR walks over to Lauren.

BASHIR: "If I had my way, we will take you to the street and stone you, but unfortunately the police of the American puppet government are everywhere, so consider yourself lucky. Say goodbye to your mummy. We can be sure the video will be the higest quality.

BASHIR laughs evilly and motions for the other terrorist to hold up the Camcorder.

BASHIR (speaking into camera): "Death to all Crusaders! Allah Akbar! Iraq Akbar!"

He takes out a gun and shoots Lauren in the head, the soldier's body falling out of the chair and to the ground.

HEILONGJIAN PROVINCE, NORTHEASTERN CHINA

Jack Bauer is in a prison cell coughing. He takes out a long needle he had managed to hide inside his anus as he saw the Chinese soldier turn to the other side of the cell block. He also removes a map hidden in his body with a route to the Russian border.

The Chinese guard opens the door and grabs Jack to take him to his torture session. Jack takes out the nail and jams it into the man's eye, blood and fluid squirting out as he screamed. Jack broke his neck and grabbed his gun .

Two guards burst through the door and raise their guns at Jack but Jack takes the AK-47 assault rifle and mows them down, blood splattering everywhere. Jack goes down the cell block shooting out the locks.

JACK: Benjarong!

A Thai prisoner follows him and Jack hands him a gun from another fallen soldier. Another Chinese inmate picked up more weapons as the prisoners surged out of the block.

Jack and Benjarong burst into a guard office where there are four guards, all of them reaching for their sidearms. Benjarong and Jack each fire through the glass and pump the guards full of bullets. Benjarong and two Chinese prisoners go in and toss the weapons to more prisoners.

BENJARONG: "Jack, that's the armory." He points to a large bolted door. Jack takes out hand grenades from the drawers in a guard's desk and tosses it, blasting the door open. More Chinese prisoners go in and grab weapons, as do more prisoners from Thailand, speaking in Thai to Benjarong.

Jack and Benjarong then emerge onto the door, climbing up a ladder while scores of Chinese soldiers close in shouting. Jack tosses two grenades and sends the guards running. Most of them killed except three, whom Jack finished off with his assault rifle.

BENJARONG: "It's time we split up, Jack!"

JACK: "Yeah! Just keep your damned drugs out of America and let's keep it that."

BENJARONG: "You have my word!"

Jack jumps onto a tree outside the main prison building as Chinese troops fire guns and army humvees pull into the prison yard.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Audrey Raines carries a bag of groceries out of her car and into her comfortable suburban Maryland home. The song "Come Home Soon" by SheDaisy plays as Audrey kisses her children and pays the teenage babysitter. They are Jack's twin kids, a son and daughter.

AUDREY: "Don't worry, Daddy will be home. We just need to have faith."

In split screens we see Audrey taking care of the kids and looking at Jack's picture. Going along with the lyrics, Audrey rubs a necklace from Jack and kisses his picture by her bed and begins to read a bedtime story. In the other screen, we see Jack making his way through the desolate Chinese landscape and engaging in firefights with Chinese soldiers.

"Come Home Soon" is a slow, sad song and we see Audrey's tears and longing expression as Jack struggles to stay alive in the Chinese night, burying himself in woods and mud as the Chinese turn on searchlights.

As the song ends, we see Jack on top of a hill. Chinese soldiers are shouting. A Chinese soldier reloads too slowly and Jack zooms in on him and shoots him in the head, the Chinese soldier's head exploding in a red burst. Jack then slides down the hill and down to a razor wire fence. In the distance there is a Russian flag.

HE SACRIFICED EVERYTHING IN HIS SERVICE FOR HIS COUNTRY.

ALL HE WANTS IS A CHANCE TO START AGAIN WITH THE WOMAN HE LOVES.

BUT THIS ISN'T JUST ANY ORDINARY DAY.

NOT EVEN FOR JACK BAUER.


	2. Episode 1

EPISODE 1

EPISODE 1

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 5:00PM AND 6:00PM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME

PARIS, FRANCE

It is late afternoon in Paris and the Eiffel Tower is basked in the light. There is a unique apprehensive feel despite the setting. Split screens show cars driving along a wide boulevard lined with French-style buildings, boats on the Seine River, tourists in front of the pyramids at the Lourve, and then a train station.

EUROSTAR STATION, PARIS- The high speed train pulls into the flashy new station in the heart of Paris. Jack Bauer comes out and walks to the immigration line. Split screens show the crowd of passengers leaving the train, several scenes of the station with French signs everywhere, Jack walking toward the immigration station and an exterior station view with the historic buildings of Paris visible. On a TV, a BBC reporter is speaking from London discussing the Olympics and we also see the new Olympic Stadium.

OFFICER: Mr...Dzintevsky, right, sorry...  
JACK (in Russian accent): No problem. Boris Andreyvich Dzintevsky.  
The Russians had given him a new fake ID that he is using.

OFFICER: So it says you work for Olenska Communications in Moscow but it says your trip originated …

JACK (acts confident in thick Russian accent): Yes, sir. My company recently expanded to Smolensk but its headquarters are in Moscow.

OFFICER (nods): So how long will you be in this country, Mr. Dzintevsky?

JACK: Four days at the most. Hopefully less if I can finish my business. I rather watch the Games in my dacha. Escape all the crowds here. (Jack nods toward a separate line filled with tourists.) Plus, no offense at all to you, but it is much easier to get a woman in Smolensk than Paris.

The Officer stamps Jack's Russian passport and waves him through. "No offense at all. Russian girls are so much easier than ours, you're lucky. But I hope you enjoy France while you're here."

Jack thanked him and walked out of the station and into a secluded park, taking out a secure satellite phone, also provided courtesy of President Suvarov.  
"Audrey, its me."

AMERICAN EMBASSY, PARIS  
AUDREY: Jack, it's...(she chokes)...so great to hear your voice again. Is this line secure?  
JACK: Yeah, I'm in Paris, just outside the main railway station. I took the Trans-Siberian from Novosibirsk to Berlin then hopped on the Eurostar. I talked with Chloe along the way.  
AUDREY: Come to the embassy now, I'll be waiting for you.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

The call to prayer echoes across the sandy wastes of the Iraqi desert and the dusty Baghdad cityscape is seen in a haze. Split screen shows the Tigris River, Firdos Square, a dilapidated neighborhood with open-air markets, and gun-toting militamen in pickup trucks. One screen changes to a Sunni militia checkpoint by a marketplace.

A female news reporter named Carol Jillian is speaking with an Iraqi sunni leader in a dilapidated apartment.  
SHEIKH: Yes, we hate the SHiites, and we hate the prescence of American troops on our sacred soil. But all Sunnis hate the Shiites, and the Americans, and the Jews. But we still follow the Koran, and the Koran forbids the killing of unarmed civilians. Unfortunately, this includes the Jews and Americans and the Shiites.  
CAROL: But the Iraqi government claims...  
SHEKH: These are baseless lies. The Iraqi government are Shiites who are puppets of the West. This land was built by the Sunnis, and it will always be rightuflly ours. This interview is over.

The reporter is in her car driving along a dusty Baghdad street when a jeep blocks her way and a Toyota sedan blocks her from behind. Gunmen order all the occupations - Carol, her cameraman, and driver, out of the car.  
HEAD GUNMAN: Stand up, all of you!  
CAROL: We have permission from the Sheik to be in this neighborhood.  
GUNMAN: We do not work for the sheikh, and he has no authority to decide who goes where.

The DRIVER hands some documentation to the men. The head gunman glares at him.  
GUNMAN (TO driver): You Kurdish swine, you people have no place in the Sunni ummah.  
The head gunman takes his pistol and shoots the Kurdish driver in the head.  
He blindfolds the reporter and hands the Camcorder to the cameraman.  
"Deliver this to al-Jazeera offices immediately. If this is not broadcast, your American female friend here is dead."

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, NASA MISSION CONTROL

PRESIDENT HELLER: ...yet no one acknowledges the work of men and women like you, who make what Neil Armstrong did possible. Under my administration, we will show a contnuing commitment to America's scientists and engineers, to the heros and patriots who build these marvels which shall help America achieve our rightful place at the head of the space race for Mars, and provides our military with the newest technologies to prepare American lives on the battlefield...

MIKE NOVICK (in a serious tone, on the phone): Yes, sir I understand. Yes, I know of Curtis Manning...he's there..training exercise...patch me through to him...

HELLER: ..and we WILL triumph, because the American spirit will always triumph. Don't tell me about China, or India, or Singapore, or all those places the Wall Street Journal or Newsweek likes to say are threats to us. Nobody can surpass the ingenuity, the innovation, and the determination of the American spirit. And triumph we will. We WILL have the new Star Wars system online by the end of my term as President, and we WILL beat the Chinese and Indians to Mars. And i KNOW, for a FACT, that if we continue on the path we are on now, together we can build a new American century. May God bless you all, and May God continue to bless America.

(to Mike): What is it.  
MIKE: Terrorists have kidnapped CBS's top corespondent in Baghdad and are threatning to execute her if we don't release all female Iraqi prisoners from Abu Ghraib within 10 hours.  
HELLER: Does CTU Baghdad know about this?  
MIKE: Yeah, Curtis is putting together a team as we speak.  
HELLER: Good, we will NOT negotiate with these clowns, and we will NOT let anything happen to Carol.

Jack Bauer heads into the side entrance of the US Embassy in Paris, where Audrey embraces him for a long 20 seconds.  
AUDREY: Oh Jack, this is finally over. The Chinese won't be able to lie right now now that me and my father know you're alive.

JACK: Yeah, that fool Cheng doesn't realize he and his entire goddam consulate staff in LA would have been killed TWICE if not for me. One of BIerko's missiles could have landed within a block of that place. Thank God you're in Europe.

AUDREY: Yeah, we're taking precautions. CTU Europe brought Chloe on board too, the Olympcis this year haven't received any threats yet except by anarchist groups based domestically in England and Germany, but we aren't taking any chances. We're monitoring Islamic radical groups, Northern Irish fringe groups who even now don't recognize British control, and of course the anarchists. Hopefully my brother Richard isnt' one of them.

JACK: Well, you know Audrey, I've always said..oh, when this is over. blah blah blah...we'll spend some time together and talk. I've had enough of that. We can get CTU to monitor the Irish and Mideastern stuff, why don't we just step out for a second, find a nice sidewalk cafe?  
AUDREY: I'd love that, jack.

LARGE WAREHOUSE, PARIS

A terrorist named Faisal Hassan puts down a phone and turns to several other terrorists.

FAISAL: My brother says everything is ready.  
TERRORIST: Good. May Allah guide our hand today. We have gone too far, planned too much.  
FAISAL: Likewise. Inshallah, I can feel the feel of paradise, of being at the right hand of Allah at this moment. This is the day of truth, of reckoning, and we are honored to be the vanguard of the holy warriors to unleash the wrath of Allah upon the infidels.

BAGHDAD  
The head insurgent punched Carol in the chest and tore off her dress.  
GUNMAN: We will make sure you enjoy every moment you spend as our guest. After all, if you government doesn't agree to our demands these may be the last hours of your life.

GUNMAN #2: Of course, we can't just let your body go to waste like that. HAHAHAHAHAHAH  
GUNMAN 1: Comms established with CTU Baghdad.

CURTIS: We are preparing the prisoner exchange at this moment.  
GUNMAN 1: Do not playing any games here, Mr. Manning. You know that our people kill without mercy. If anything goes wrong, you will have this beautiful young woman's blood on your hands.

HOUSTON, TEXAS  
The presidential motorcade sped down the wide, 10-lane freeway toward downtown Houston.

MIKE: CTU has come up with a plan.  
HELLER: Let's hear it.  
MIKE: We believe the best option is to PRETEND to agree to their demands, but we will have teams in position at the site, which we choose, and we ambush the hostage takers one their way out.

HELLER: And the risks to Carol?  
MIKE: We will wait until she is in our hands before we engage the enemy. But you know Curtis' reputation well. These people will not get away with this.

HELLER: I want cameras set up, as a sing of our good faith. And then I want the takedown to be shown live in al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya and all those propaganda stations over there.  
MIKE: Yes, sir. We're on it.

...6:00 PM.


	3. Episode 2

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 6PM AND 7PM

EPISODE 2

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 6PM AND 7PM

CTU BAGHDAD  
Curtis Manning and several CTU agents are gathered in a high tech room to hear CTU Baghdad director Joseph Hennings speak.  
"Less than an hour ago, Carol jilian, CBS News' top correspondent based in Iraq, was kidnapped by a terrorist group calling itself the Mesopotamia Jihad Brigade." He brought up the picture of a menacing looking terrorist onto the screen. "This is Khalid bin Hamad, the suspected ringleader of the kidnapping team. He is also suspected in the bombing of the Mahmoudihya police station last week which killed over 60 Iraqi Sunni recruits as well as dozens of innocent civilians. Curtis will give you the run-thorugh for the operation."

CURTIS: President Heller has openely appeared on the news and promised to give in to the terrorists demands and we have arranged a prisoner exchange location, located in the Bushira Market in the Kadzidimya district. We and Iraqi intelligence have teams on the ground at this moment. The moment we have secured the package our camoflauged teams in the market will engage the hostiles.

PARIS, FRANCE- Jack and Audrey sat down at a romantic sidewalk cafe near the Champs Elysse boulevard within view of the Arc de Triumphe.  
AUDREY: What it is, Jack?  
Jack was staring blankly at her and her surroundings.  
JACK: It's just...just feels so good to be in civilization again.  
Audrey smiled sweetly as she brushed her flowing blondish hair back.  
"Its over. Everything's going to be fine.  
Jack embraced her hard and long.  
Audrey paused, then finally said, "Jack, there's something I have to tell you. I wanted to tell you this last time, right after we brought down Logan, but you know I never had a chance."  
"What is it, Audrey?"

AUDREY: "Jack, we have two children together. They were born a month before you came out of hiding to stop the nerve gas in LA. They're fraternal twins. I named then Carl and Molly.  
Jack didn't know what to think of that. He was happy, of course. He smiled, but part of him had to hold back. Because every time in the past he had thought things would turn out fine, something came up. He lurched as Audrey's phone rang with the CTU ringtone.

CTU EUROPE, LONDON, ENGLAND  
Bill Buchanan paced around the large operations center located in the Docklands area of eastern London near the Thames River.  
"Audrey, I want to increase the priority on the DOD list of the group called the Celtic Cross. Their leader, Frankie McCourt, just sent an e-mail to the BBC studio in Dublin, Ireland, denouncing the Amsterdam Accords of last year. We believe they are a concern in the London Games. Also keep up your surveillance on Middle Eastern elements in France.

Audrey said, "I'll let our French friends here know. Try opening additional channels with the Irish government. THoguh I think the main threat comes from the Islamist elements, if any. This may just be a diversion."  
Bill added, "In addition, I thougth you may want to know, Curtis Manning is in the field in Baghdad as we speak."  
Audrey: Yeah, the Jillian kidnapping...but, look, I'll have to get back to you.

Jack didn't like the sound of the conversation, but Audrey reassured him. "The London Games have been getting threats from nutcases in half the world, this is just a precaution." Jack wanted to remind her that the DOD and CTU involvement in the Logan-Suvarov summit was only a precaution too.

PARIS WAREHOUSE  
Three terrorists, NAVEED, FAIIZ, and SOHRAB opened a padlock and revealed three canister filled with VX nerve gas.  
Faiiz used some sensors to determine the autheticity of the gas. "I always knew our Chechen friends could be trusted. A shame what happened to Bierko." He looked at the readings. "Russian made, not as deadly as Sentox,"...evil laugh..."..but enough for our purposes. After all, this is only the begninng."  
Faiiz dialed a number. A man in a Renault sedan named YAFFA ABBAS answered.  
"Yaffa, we are ready to begin the mission, awaiting your go-ahead."  
"And our people have scoured the target area?"  
"Yes. Everything is in order."  
"Good. Proceed. I will see you in paradise. Inshallah."

DUBLIN, IRELAND  
Jane Saunders's phone rang as she drove along the motorway through the western district of the city, where the buildings began to thin out and she could see the late afternoon sun illuminating the beatufiul Irish countryside.  
"Jane Saunders."  
"Jane, this is Bill Buchanan from CTU Los Angeles, currretnly division commander in London, Olympics Task Force."  
"yEAH Bill?"  
While BIll Buchanan wasn't there the time Jack Bauer nearly ordered her killed so her father Stephen Saunders would give up the locations of couriers of the deadly Cordelia virus, she still hated talking to CTU. That day had changed her life forever. She discovered her father had betrayed England after his torture in the Balkans and hatched a terrorist plot agains the U.S. and was responsbiel for killing 800 people in a Los Angeles hotel. Then jack Bauer almost dragged her into the infected building before her father surrendered his plans. That day had put her on the path to being an intelligence agent, perhaps to help her come to terms with things.  
"Any info on Frankie McCourt?"  
"Our people are monitoring his activities and his bank accounts, but nothing so far. In fact he hasn't been seen in his flat for days."

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

The head gunman brought the blindfolded reporter out of the van in the dusty street filled with gawkers. On the other side of the market square, several US and Iraqi military vehicle arrived with the handcuffed female Iraqi prisoners.

"You are lucky your government has become so cowardly," he hissed to Carol jillian. "Do not make any wrong moves." He knudged her forward.

Carol's knees shook as she walked the 20 paces across the dusty square. "Come on," Curtis mouthed, "It's ok." She was reassured by his calm demeaner and began a full trot. She walked past the 9 Iraqi women released from Abu Graib prison. Curtis grabbed her and several CTU, US Army, and Iraqi Army troops surrounded her.  
"Go go go!" Curtis ordered.

Curtis and several CTU agents took out automatic weapons and fired. Blood sprayed out of the three terrorists outside of their two vehicles. One man squeezed off a shot that hit an Iraqi soldier, killing him, but Curtis turned the gun on him. His head exploded in a shower of blood and skull fragmnents

Two more terrorists poured out of the second vehicle and a missile whizzed by Curtis's head, hitting a storefront and exploding in a gigantic explision. Several US soldiers then returned fire with Bazooks. The first van was carried several feet into the air before it exploded, showering the square with debris.  
"Yallah! Yallah! Retreat!" a terrorist yelled as he put his van in reverse. The other van didn't go. Instead, several men poured out.

"Jesus Christ!" Curtis mouths, ducking. "Take them out! Now!" Some of his men raise a rocket launcher and fire at the van. The first van backs up quickly, tearing through market stalls and sending wares hawkers scrambling for cover screaming. Two Iraqi soldiers open fire and get into a car to pursue but the terrorists mow them down sending blood and flesh flying through the air.

The second van is struck in the rear by a Bazooka, crashing into a storefront and exploding. Three surviving terrorists raise their weapons and charge into the market. There is a brief but fierce firefight as the US soldiers take down the insurgents with quick bursts of rapid-machine gun fire. One by one the terrorists collapse into the street dead.

….7:00 PM


	4. Episode 3

EPISODE 3

EPISODE 3

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 7 PM AND 8 PM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME AND 1PM AND 2PM CENTRAL TIME

BAGHDAD, IRAQ- Three rockets whooshed through the thick smoke and struck several stalls. An Iraqi soldier was killed and several CTU Baghdad agents scattered into various positions. Curtis hid behind a burning car and popped up, shooting three insurgents to death.  
"Hold your fire!" Curtis ordered in the radio.  
"Copy."

There was widespread panic as the police cleared the area. Curtis placed a call to CTU Baghdad.  
"Aziz," he said to a technician back at the op center, "Use our satellites to track the suspects vehicles. We are looking at a brown van, Baghdad City plates RFD890, that's RFD890s." "I'm on it."

PARIS- The waiter at the sidewalk café came with the check, and Jack and Audrey immediately turned past the French version to the English one.

A Middle Eastern man gets off of a city bus three blocks away from the café and checks his oversized jacket. The camera zooms in on his face, which has a hardened expression on it.

Audrey gives Jack a playful smile and wink as she signs the check and hands her U.S. Embassy credit card to the waiter. "Company account," she said.  
Jack chuckled and leaned forward again, brushing her flowing hair back, feeling its soft texture as he leaned forward and kissed her, sniffing her perfume and looking into her lovely eyes in the evening sunlight.  
Audrey began tuggin on Jack's hand and pointed to a baroque fountain. "Want to make a wish?" she asked, taking out some quarters and French coins.  
"I'd love that, Audrey. You're everything in the world to me. No matter what happens, we'll find a way to be together."

HOUSTON, TEXAS

"As I said, we will be runnign the campaign of the century," Chief of Staff Peter Ricardo-Sanchez said into his phone. "Everything's perfectly planned. This is going to make the Palmer campaigns look like a high school SGA election."  
The car dealerships, chain hotels, stirp malls, and expansive subdivisions whizzed by as the presidential limosuine cruised at a brisk 75 mph down Interstate 610, the city's inner beltway.

"Good work, Pete," Heller said, "I'm impressed at how well everything's going."  
"Okay," Laura Johnston, the attractive redhead press secretary said, "So the plan is to hold off on a major press conference at the BP North America headquarters."

"That's unless you want me to show up late at the graduation speech in College Station."  
The plan was for Novick and Heller to lift off on a new hybrid chopper from the top of the BPNA building, formerly Enron headquarters.  
Pete had been running things behind the scenes with Heller since their days together at the Anderson Aerospace Corporation in California where Pete was head of employee relations. The Democrats, certainly very unchracteristic of them, had questioned Pete's abilities, half of them mentioning his connections with Heller in the past and the other half calling him a "coconut" since he was the son of legal Salvadoran immigrants who backed additional border security measures and rose quickly in the Republican Party.  
Pete's phone rang again. "Yeah?"

He turned to Novick and Heller.  
"It's done. CNN, Fox, and BBC and al-Jazeera captured the Jillian rescue and I've asked Becca to prepare a statement for you as part of your address at BPNA.  
"Now about your daughter, Mr. Novick, that's the culmunating part if…"  
"Hold off on that for now, Pete."

PARIS, FRANCE  
The terrorist glanced at the pedestrians he passed on the busy city street as he placed his hands deeper into his jacket. He saw a blonde couple kissing by a fountain.  
Jack and Audrey laughed as Audrey took out a quarter and skipped it five times on the surface of the green-blue water of the marble fountain. "I got one more than you, haha," Audrey said.

"Oh my God, no," Jack suddenly said, his blood turning to ice, and the expression on his face seeming to say "not again". He made eye contact with the Middle Eastern man, who was mumbling something. Jack was in the middle of the thickest part of the crowd of tourists and locals near the extravagant historic square.

"Allah abkaaaaaa!" he heard the man shout. Jack immediately whipped out a pistol, pushed Audrey to the ground, and pulled the trigger, shooting the man through both eyes. Around him, people screamed and scattered, leaving behind shopping bags, food, and even a couple shoes.  
"Stay away from him!" Jack shouted in English, waving his gun in the air. He could already hear sirens in the distance. Jack took out his PDA and phone and dialed CTU Europe immediately.

"CTU Europe, O'Brien." Chloe answered.  
"Chloe, its Jack."  
"Jack?? When did you…"  
"Look Chloe, I don't have time to explain right now, but I'm in Paris with Audrey and a terrorist just tried to blow us up."  
"What?"

"I shot him before he could detonate his vest. I don't believe we were specifically targeted, but this is at a major tourist trap near the Champs Elysse and the Lourve museum. With the Olympics starting in London and the presidential campaign in full swing in the U.S. we can't discount this as an isolated incident. I'm going to take a picture of the hostile and send it to you, cross-reference it with the WET list, any of our sources and with Israeli and Saudi intelligence."

"Oh Jack, I'm starting on it now."  
"I'll have to get back to you, the police are here."

KHABAVORSK, RUSSIAN-CHINESE BORDER

Cheng Zhi cursed the Siberian mosquitos as he walked the several hundred yards to the parking area to the Russian command post. Split screens appear as he talks with a Chinese agent in TOKYO, JAPAN.

"The Russians have been very cooperative, as they would be given that Bauer killed five of their soldiers and boarded a flight."  
"And where do I fit in?"

"You fool, stop questioning before I even finish. It is an Aeroflot flight from Khabavorsk to Tokyo, after which the flight continues to Los Angeles. There is a two hour layover in Narita Airport, and the plane should be touching down in less than two hours from now."  
"I will do my best."  
"Please do that, Kuo, because I don't want to go back to Los Angeles. Things always get more complicated there."

PARIS, FRANCE  
Yaffa Abbas pocketed his cellphone and spoke into his Blackberry. "Yes, Mohammed, Faisal's people are reading. Their first team will be striking within the hour."  
Mohammed Abbas, driving in a sedan marked "Electrique Paris" answered calmly. "I am ready on my end as well. Let the wrath of Allah begin."

SUGARLAND, TX, SUBURBAN HOUSTON- Her favorite song, by a band named Sugarland, was playing on the radio. No, the trio of chart-topping country singers was not from her hometown, rather they were from Atlanta, but they thought "Sugarland" was a cool name. Yet she forced herself to turn it off as the news came back on.  
"….the Heller-Novick campaign has made its way here to the Lone Star state after receiving widespread enthuasium during stops in Maryland, Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri….."

Suzanne ("Suz") Novick switched the channel.  
"…President Heller was kidnapped in Los Angeles years ago by Islamic radicals…." Click.  
"…one obstacle Heller and Novick face is the Sunbelt crisis, a near virtual repeat of the UNOCOL incident with China a couple years ago and the Dubai World Ports deal. LaShante Harris reports from Denver."

SUZ (into phone): I know….yeah I know I'm a people person but this is a media circus we don't need."

RICHARD HELLER (on phone from Los Angeles): Listen, Suz, we can't screw this up. This is our one chance to bring this goddamn campaign down. I'm so sick of my father, and your…

SUZ: Richard, maybe you don't understand where I'm coming at. If you think I'm just like you, wanting revenge and all that, well you're wrong. I actually believe in what…

REPORTER: ..Air China, the state owned Chinese airline, has made a 10 billion bid for the now backrupt discount carrier Sunbelt Airlines, significantly higher than the 7 billion maximum bid by domestic carrier Southeast Airlines, which will give it access to air routes serving major American cities……

SUZ: I'm doing this for my friends, for people I care about, Richard. If you're not on the same boat I am, maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation.

REPORTER: ..Air China already has planned flights to Beijing from Chicago, Denver, New York, and possibly additional cities. In addition this deal, if passed, will result in major layoffs of Sunbelt employees as Air China plans to replace them with cheaper Chinese flight crews…..now have a breaking news story from Iraq.

SUZ: Dammit dad!

PARIS  
The police told Jack and Audrey to stand back from the evacuated area as a bomb squad detonated the explosives on the man Jack had just killed.  
A young French agent walked briskly over to Jack.  
"Agent Bauer, I heard you've been reinstated on a provisional basis by American CTU."  
"Yes, we're trying to determine a connection between this and the London Games."  
"I'm the French intelligence liason, Maurice DuJour, also the head of CAT, Cetnre de Anti-Terror. Named after your own fair agency, of course." He said with a smile.  
Jack wasn't sure if he liked this man, but he seemed okay at first glance.  
A second, much younger agent approached. "I'm a field agent, Alexandre Pierre."

BAGHDAD  
Curtis and his men took their positions on the rooftops of the crumbling apartment blocks lining al-Saadoun Street, a faded jewel in the Iraqi capital. This was once a prosperous area in the 1980s but suffered massively from allied airstrikes in the two Gulf Wars as well as open combat between Iraqi insurgents and coalition forces. CTU satellites had tracked the hostage takers here.

Curtis ordered the snipers to take out the guards on the rooftop, then a Predator drone fired two missiles into the apartment and the CTU team burst in while Iraqi police provided cover fire. Curtis kicked open a door and saw three insurgents firing back. He whirled around a corner and tossed a flash grenade into the room, stunning the men. Then two CTU agents burst in and cut them down with automatic gunfire.

A screaming terrorist fired wildly down from the stairs. Curtis carefully aimed and squeezed a long burst, sending the man tumbling down the stairs and his gun falling to the ground. "Clear!"  
"This guy's al-Samoud!" an agent said. "We're going to get confirmation from the Iraqis."  
"Oh my God," Curtis gasped as he stepped into a room.

CTU EUROPE

BILL BUCAHANAN: Jack, you're on speakerphone. The terrorist you shot was Ali Nassersaghi, a French citizen of mixed Moroccan and Pakistani descent. He fought against American forces in Ramadi, Iraq after attending radical Islamic schools right there in Paris.

Jack: Has he had contact with any other suspects.

Bill: Chloe and Shari are talking with German intelligence now, a guy named Theo Stoller, if you remember him. So far DuJour's people have connected him to one suspect, a man named Faisal Hassan, which we believe is an alias. Faisal was convicted of treason in Dubai and nearly put in the electric chair but fled in a prison break engineered by radical elements in the police who are not loyal to their government. Hold on….

Bill spoke into another line for a while.

"Jack, we just got a call from Curtis in Baghdad, this doesn't look good. I want you to share any and all info with DuJour and his people, as we are doing with MI6. There is near irrefutable evidence, hidden inside a secure vault, of an impending attack in the Paris region. We believe the first target is the Arc de Triumphe Metro station."

PARIS METRO  
Naveed, Faiiz, and Sohrab took the escalator down past the crowds of tourists and businesspeople that packed the Paris subway.  
Naveed pointed to a stairway down further into the station. "The Circle Line is most crowded heading out from Platform 4 downstairs. Faiiz, you take care of that. Sohrab and I will get the Blue and Green trains while another package will be left on Platform 1."

Jack rushed over to Audrey. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work." He and Pierre rushed down the street toward the Metro station, only 2 blocks away. "Why is this always happening?" he cursed silently.

DuJour got into his car and placed a call…..to Faisal Hassan. "Yes, this will have to happen, thanks to the Americans. But never lose sight of our ultimate goal." He then called Jack with the info on the suspects.

BAGHDAD  
Curtis waved his team in. "Okay, now I want Jackson to get that laptop and send all of the info on it to CTU Europe.  
Jackson, a young techie, turned on the laptop and clicked on some files. "I'll need to get through this firewall."  
"Ok, do it as fast as you can."  
Jackson punched a few more buttons. "S!"  
Suddenly there was beeping from everywhere inside the room. Then a gigantic explosion visible 3 miles away swallowed up the entire building.

CTU EUROPE  
"Curtis, come in…..this is Shari, do you read? Jesus!"  
"Curtis, it's Bill….."

PARIS METRO  
Jack and Pierre pushed their way through the crowd, flashing their federal agent badges.

Naveed suddenly paused as he passed a billboard. "Wait."  
They all looked at the display. In French, it advertised for the Tim McGraw-Faith Hill concert as the arena only four stops away. "We will get a lot more casualties in this place, and a better message. Attacking an all-American symbol."  
Faiiz acted unsure. "We decided on the target along with Faisal."  
"He will understand," Naveed said. Sohrab nodded with his eyes blazing with enthusiasm. "We are the ones….in the field."  
"Let's go then."  
……..7:59…..8:00 PM.


	5. Episode 4

EPISODE 4

EPISODE 4

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 8PM AND 9PM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (2PM TO 3 PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

PARIS METRO

Jack and Pierre push their way through the crowds and reach the station manager's office on the upper platform.  
"We believe these three individuals are mounting an attack on this station at any minute. We're federal agents."  
The manager acts panicked.  
PIERRE: I need you to remain calm and connect these feeds to CTU Europe.  
Manager: Yeah, right away.

INT. PARIS SUBWAY TRAIN  
Naveed, Faiiz, and Sohrab placed their large shopping bags under their seats as the train pulled into the station, tunnel lights whizzing by.  
"Two stops away," Faiiz said. "Naveed, are you familiar with the concert venue?"  
"Yes, I went there a lot to pick up French blonde girls before I rediscovered Islam. I used to sneak in there with friends."  
"Good. Everything should work perfectly, then, God be praised."

INT. CTU EUROPE  
Chloe: Curtis come in. Shari, bring up the satellite feed…..

Shari types commands on her keyboard and brings up the main displays.  
"Oh my god!"

Morris: Get the second in command there, get somebody to tell us what the hell is going on here!

EXT. BAGHDAD  
A CTU Baghdad agent named Humair barks orders in Arabic amid burning cars and buildings in rubble. He speaks into a phone.  
"Agent Manning is dead, his whole team is dead. This building was rigged by the terrorists!"  
There is gunfire in the background as Iraqi police engage in battle with remaining insurgents.

Despondant looks fill the faces of the people at CTU Europe.

Chloe gets up from her seat and goes to a window overlooking a London skyline filled with both shiny skyscrapers and historic buildings. She begins to sob and Morris goes over.  
"Someone needs to tell Jack this. I can't take this anymore."  
"Chloe, Curtis meant a lot to me too. I worked him for the past six weeks, he was a good soldier, and a good man."

Chloe began sobbing uncontrollably. After all that's happened in the past several years. The Cordelia virus, the nuclear reactor meltdown, the nuclear missile, the Sentox nerve gas, the Logan scandal. Now this was going on to be another long day. Part of her knew that as bad as she already knew things would get, it would be a lot worse.

Morris put his arms around her.  
"This may not be much comfort, but we can still help Curtis. We need to bring down the people who did this."

Bill himself is choking back tears as he dials Jack's phone, then declines. Jack si in the field, and this had to wait so it would not impact Jack's emotions during this critical mission.

PARIS SUBWAY  
French transit police went into the station and searched the benches.  
The station manager called central control.  
"…YES, we need to lock down the Arc de Triumphe station. Stop all trains from coming and leaving/

"Jack, its' Bill."  
"What is it?" Jack could detect something in his voice.  
"Security feeds from the station show the suspects on the eastbound train."  
"Dammit, our source in French CAT did say the target was the Arc de Triumphe station specifically."  
"That's affirmative, Jack, but either the intelligence was flawed or the terrorists made their own call in the field."  
"If that's the case, I want you to look at the surrounding area, any particular targets. There must be something these terrorists decided on that was too attractive to pass up. We're running out of time!"  
"On it."

The station manager turned to Jack. "What's the casualty rate for this attack."  
"I'm sorry I can't tell you anything. Neither me nor Pierre are at liberty to say. Just continue to do it."  
Casualty figures of the gas released inside this station would kill 80 of the people in it, at least 400 dead.  
"I need the security feeds from the next stations on all three lines here, including all exits, elevators, escalators, including restricted areas."  
"Ok."

EXT. SKYCRAPER  
The presidential motorcade pulled off the wide boulevard in front of Williams Tower in Houston's Uptown district, one of the city's two business districts, entering a private driveway onto the corporate grounds of BP North America, a towering high-rise.  
Heller and Mike got out along with Press Secretary Laura Johnston and Chief of Staff Peter Ricardo-Sanchez. They were approached by a group of men.

"I'm Bob Fraser, CEO of BPNA, its' a pleasure, Mr. President."  
"Likewise, Bob. We serve our country in different ways, but equally important."  
"You don't have to be so humble, partner. So, welcome to BPNA."  
Pete tapped Mike on the shoulder and whispered in his ear. Novick immediately began to frown.  
"What is it Mike?" Heller asked as they entered the automatic doors into a showroom with displays of BPNA's new environmentally friendly technology.

"Our CTU teams in Baghdad lead by Curtis Manning were ambushed by a massive bomb that destroyed an entire city block. We believe there is a major attack set to take place in France to coincide with the Games next door in Britain."  
"Jesus Christ. I don't believe this happening again. Get the cabinet ready. Bob, will you excuse us for just a second?"  
"Certainly, Mr. President."  
He stepped aside toward the Starbucks coffee stand in the marble lobby of the building.

"We can't let this get to the press."  
"Mr. President, if I may," Laura Johnston began.  
"of course."

"Sir, I think perhaps it may not be such a bad idea if this terrorist threat gets to the press. The judge here in Houston has set tomorrow at 8:30AM as the deadline for the Sunbelt and Air China deal. What's going on with your daughter, Mr. Vice President, certainly doesn't help."  
"Laura, are you suggesting…"Mike began

"The media will be all over this. Charles Gibson from ABC and Greta Van Susteren from FOX are flying in tonight. This is the one issue that can jeopardize your entire campaign."  
"We can't allow a panic at the London Games or in Paris. Our British friends have waited years for this moment. Also, the terrorists may launch their main plan prematurely…"  
"The decision is yours, Mr. President. I was just suggesting that this can be a way to throw the media off."

"My decision stands, Lauren, though your concerns are duly noted," Heller said. "Make sure we are on schedule for our College Station arrival as well as for our return to the city." A split screen shows Jack and Pierre running through the Paris station and CTU employees working frantically in the operations room, and Suz Heller getting into her car.

GEORGE BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT, HOUSTON

The camera zooms across the tarmac filled with 6 Air China jets. The Chinese national anthem is played by a Chinese military honor guard from the Chinese Consulate in Houston. The CEO of Air China, HUANG JIN, salutes the commander officer.  
American and other Western press are arrayed on the runway and inside the sparkling modern concourse buildings. We see lines of protestors, many of them baggage handlers and mechanics from other airlines, and local union leaders from other industries.

REPORTER #1: Reproting live from George Bush Intercontinental Airport, 20 miles from Hobby Airport, the home port of Sunbelt Airlines which is set for a corporate takeover by the Chinese government-owned…

REPROTER #2: The Vice President's daughter, Suzanne Kylie Novick

CHINESE CONSUL KWAN MING: Welcome to Space City, it is an honor.  
HUANG: Space City, I like the futuristic sound of it. This is the first time I have been to this part of America.  
MING: I hope you enjoy your stay.  
HUANG: Oh, that is for sure. Anyplace where we can profit and expand our nation's interests is an excellent place indeed.  
They get into the diplomatic limo and it pulls out across the large airport tarmac following by photographers from national news outlets.

CTU  
Chloe: We have three potential targets. Our feeds shows the terrorists exiting at the following station. Its an entertainment district, with several nightclubs, concert halls, and hotels.  
Bill: Find out what events are being held  
Chloe: What do you think I'm doing? (gives him a weird look)

Jack and Pirre emerge on the street back above and find several men getting into motorbikes.  
"Federal agents," Pierre said in French and he and Jack get on two bikes and begin speeding toward the next station.

Chloe: OK, got it, we believe the new target is the Rosseau Center, its an old building for tennis matches, converted into a major nightclub on its first two floors, the rest are offices and hotel and apartment space. There's a major concert tonight, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Probably the most American target.

Morris: If I were a terrorist I would be tempted to attack there.

Jack: Ok, bring up the schematics to the place and send them to my PDA.

PARIS STREET  
"We just passed it," Sohrab said nervously.  
"Calm yourself," Naveed said. "We don't have tickets. I never had tickets. I know the right place."

The three terrorists went around a corner and Faiiz took out a lock picking kit for a service door for the office complex.  
"Naveed, are you ready to disarm the alarms?"  
"Yes, everything is going well."

"I especially want detail on the ventilation system, these terrorists know what they're doing, and we believe they may have trained with Vladimir Bierko."  
"Ok, the AC service vents converge in two areas above the stage. Its for them to pump out the fake smoke during concerts.

Naveed, Faiiz, and Sohrab enter the building and disable the alarm. They walk up a flight of stairs.

We see split screens of the interior of the concert venue, with Faith Hill singing "Mississippi Girl" on stage and French fans in cowboy and cowgirl hats and jeans dancing to the music. There is a large American flag draped above the stage.

"Pierre, get the satchel charges ready," Jack said.  
"But we may be…"  
"DO IT!"  
Pierre immediately shut up and took out the explosives.  
"We go in simultaneously, we try to take them alive, but the primary objective is the VX gas canisters." He radioed CTU. "We're 5 minutes out."

Novick found a private corridor and dialed a number in his private cell phone.  
"Hey Kylie, its me."  
"What do you want, dad?"

"Look, Kylie, I know we don't' agree on everything," Mike began.  
"We don't agree on anything. You and the President ever wonder why your children don't even support all the crap you're…"  
"Hold it, Kylie. You don't hate my policies, its just with this particular deal cause its personal for you. Put yourself in my position, please, these agreements were signed before our presidency, we can't just…"

"..just like the war began before your presidency, and the recession began before, and all the crime and racism in this country began before, dammit, you're supposed to FIX things! And where has this country gone since you went to the White House with Heller?"

"And what do you think I do every day? We need to combat our enemies, defend our freedom. Look, I just want to meet tonight with you. Someplace we both like, like the old IHOP your mother always took us to, or the park…"  
"Forget it, dad, you're just like Heller."

"Don't forget that your brothers are not like you, and Audrey is not like Richard. I'm not here to fight, there's just something we need to discuss, its important. Please, Kylie."  
"There's nothing to discuss. I'm not in the mood for that now. I'm had enough of this crap the past 10 years ever since you joined David Palmer. Now Keeler, and now Heller, just gets worse doesn't it." Click.

PARIS  
Naveed removed the VX gas canister and began to punch the keypad attached it.  
Jack counted down the seconds for the satchel charges to blow. There was a loud boom and the room filled with smoke.  
Jack and Pierre burst in with guns blazing. Jack saw Naveed through the smoke and kicked away his gun, but Pierre shot him in the chest, killing him. A bullet from Faiiz whizzed past Jack, who returned fire, shooting him through the heart. Pierre grabbed Sohrab and slammed his head again the door and broke his neck.

"All clear!" Jack said into the radio. :"The gas is secure."

Faisal Hassan got off the phone with Yaffa Abbas. "Yes, Phase Two."


	6. Episode 5

EPISODE 5

EPISODE 5

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 9PM AND 10PM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME AND 3PM AND 4PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME

Alarms are going off everywhere and smoke has filled up the room but the smoke is clearing. Jack and Pierre check the bodies of the three dead terrorists for pulses. They are all dead. Jack grabs Pierre and slams him against a wall.

"I said we wanted them alive!"  
"Jesus, Bauer, they didn't give us a clean shot!"  
"Two of them did! You just panicked. These people are probably part of a larger conspiracy threatening this city." Jack sighs loudly and takes out his phone.  
"CTU, this is Bauer, all the hostiles are dead, I repeat, they are all dead." No thanks to my incompetent new French partner, he didn't add.  
"CTU and CAT will be sending teams immediately. Hold your positions and secure the area."  
Jack grabbed a broken cell phone from Naveed's pocket, connecting it to his PDA.  
"Chloe, I'm going to give you a feed from one of the dead hostiles' phone, see who he has contacted in the last couple hours.

At CTU Europe, Bill was speaking rapidly into the phone to the French and British anti-terrorism services, telling them to put their people on high alert.

In the warehouse, Faisal Hassan spoke to Yaffa Abbas.  
Faisal wiped sweat off his beard. "Unfortunately it appears our people failed."  
"You told me your people are disciplined. If they had not deviated from the mission profile, we might have succeeded."  
"MIGHT have. We both know the French authorities had to be told about this to protect our further operations."  
Yaffa breathed. "Still I wish we could have spilled some blood."  
"Patience, brother," Faisal said. "It will come." He tried to lighten up the mood amid the tension. "You should be more composed, like your brother Mohammed," he said with a slight laugh that really came out as a nervous crackle.  
"Not funny," Yaffa said as he took out his phone.

PARIS MOTORWAY  
In the "Paris Electrique" van, Mohammed answered the phone.  
"I do not understand why this attack had to be compromised this way. We could have our mole gain the Americans' trust and still have killed the people. They actually chose to attack an American concert instead, there are two American celebrities there, both of which have visited Iraq to promote the massacre of our wives and daughters, and campaigned for war criminals like Bush and Palmer and Keeler and Heller."  
"It is most unfortunate, but our plan is on schedule. Trust in Allah, and do your part. Everything is going according to plan."  
"Yes, brother."  
He hung up. Mohammed placed another call, and a man in a high-tech control room of a thermal power plant answered.  
"I will be there in an hour, Bertrand. Have the plant ready for the test."  
As Mohammed drove down the busy highway, he too breathed deeply. He worried for his brother. Everything he had planned for, everything his allies had planned for, rested on this day. Him and his shadow alliance would succeed where others have failed.  
As the historic buildings of Paris gave way to industrial parks and the shabby apartments that ringed the city, Mohammed thought of those who preceeded him. Habib Marwan grew up not far from his own neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, and he had met Vladimir Bierko, the Chechen, during training in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the two had fought together against Afghan government forces and the Americans and British. Today, things would be different, Mohammed Abbas swore to himself. Today, his people would strike, and nothing would stand in their way.

CHINESE CONSULATE, HOUSTON  
Huang Jin had barely settled into his guest quarters at the Chinese Consulate compound when a secretary came in with a phone.  
"Mr. Huang, this is for you. A secure line."  
Huang wondered who it could me. "Let me take it."

The screen is split to Richard Heller walking through the terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, talking into his phone.  
"This is Richard Heller," he said simply.  
"Ah, the son of the American President. The Heller child that has some sense in his head. How did you find me?"  
"The consulate website," Richard said simply.  
"There must be something important for you to contact me like this."  
"I am already at LAX right now for the flight that leaves in 10 minutes. I believe there is a way we can help each other."  
"To accomplish what?" Huang paced around the room, his eyes sharp as those of sharks or wolves.  
"For you to do what you came to this country to do, and for me to bring down my father. Things may get ugly, so this is something we should think about."  
"I am listening, Richard."

Several CTU and French agents came through the door and secured the area. A forensics team began identifying the bodies of the three terrorists killed by Jack and Pierre.

"Jack, its Audrey, I'm at CAT right now, Centre de Anti-Terrorism, French CTU. We're receiving new info from CTU and DOD databases. The three terrorists you guys killed are Naveed Choudry, Sohrab Zibaii, and Faiiz Ajaz. We believe there is something bigger, these people were using their real names. The real masterminds are at large. All of them grew up in Paris, in the slums, these are just foot soldiers, attended Islamic madrasas locally….uh, Jack, hold on, we have a van to take you to CAT, we're on videoconference with CTU Europe, President Heller, and the French and British heads of state.

Mike Novick had an "I don't believe this is happening" look as Heller tried to maintain their composure. They were in the temporay Marine One, the hybrid helicopter provided by BP North America and Boeing. The press had perfectly captured their lift-off from the helipad on the top of BPNA headquarters and they were now flying over woods, swamps, and scattered farmland.

"This is Bill Bucanan at CTU Europe. Less than 20 minutes ago, agent Jack Bauer of CTU and Alexandre Pierre of French CAT, working with Maurice DuJour of CAT, prevented a major terrorist attack with WMDs in the heart of Paris."

There were gasps from the British and French leaders. "What?" the British PM exclaimed. The Frenchman was too shocked to say anything.

"The initial plan was to release VX nerve gas into the Arc de Triumphe Metro station in central Paris. However the terrorists on the ground deviated from their plan and decided to attack the Rousseau Center concert instead. They were stopped when agent Bauer and Pierre took them down using deadly force."

"Any idea who is behind this?" Heller asked simply.

"Plans for the subway attack were transmitted to us by Agent Curtis Manning in Baghdad before his team was massacred in that explosion. The leader on the ground in Baghdad was Abdulaziz bin Sheikh al-Samoud, who we believe died in the blast himself. He is a leader of the Mesopotamian Jihad Brigade, the same group responsible for Carol Jillian's kidnapping. However, the Mesopotamian Jihad has connections with terrorist organizations throughout the world, spanning a wide range of ideologies. Anyone from the German and Italian Red Brigades, Chechen separatists-al-Samoud trained with Bierko- Irish fringe groups, and domestic American anti-government militias and neo-Nazi groups."

"So basically we don't know who is responsible," Heller wanted to say, but that would have made him sound too much like Logan.  
"Due to the sensitivity of the issue, I would like to recommend that CTU be given command in the investigation involving the attempted French terror attack, as we are already sharing resources for the London Olympics."  
"Do we believe the Games may be their next target?" the PM asked.  
"To be honest, we can't say for sure at this point. How is the investigation going at your end?" Bill asked.

"Our agents are increasing surveillance on Muslim and Irish radical groups throughout the British Isles but we are facing legal hurdles, especially with Northern Ireland."  
"Well, Jeffrey," Heller said, "Don't' let those people tie your hands behind your backs. Trust your own instincts. We are fighting a war here. Has there been any communications between the Northern Irish militants and Islamists groups domestically that you know of."  
"We are working on that. Thanks for your support, Jim."

Heller turned to Mike as the helicopter came up on the college town of College Station, flying past lush green forests and pastures before reaching the pleasant town.  
"We're landing in five minutes, Mr. President, we're touching down right in the middle of Kyle Field, the 50-yard line, to be exact. They're in for a surprise, probably wondering where you were." the pilot said.  
Heller nodded. "Good." He then turned to Mike for the more pressing business.  
"The press will go haywire if news of this ever gets out. We're talking a panic in the entire Western world with far reaching economic consequences and a complete disruption of the London Games." He then dialed Jack's phone.

"Mr. President, it's nice to hear your voice again."  
"I only wish it was under better circumstances," Heller said as he looked down on the campus of Texas A&M University and the well-planned town. The stadium was up ahead, all filled with Aggie pride for the graduation ceremony. People were already looking up at the presidential hybrid chopper. Mike Novick remembered when he was at their rival school, UT Austin. Things were so much simpler then. You didn't have to worry about which guy on the bus was a suicide bomber or when the next plane would be hijacked or the next batch of nerve gas stolen.  
"Jack, I personally have to deliver some tragic news to you. Bill wanted to do it, but I thought it was best if I did it."  
"Yes sir?" Jack froze. Oh my God, may this not be around Kim…

"Curtis Manning and fifteen other CTU agents and six Iraqi soldiers were killed today in an explosion in Baghdad right after he sent you details of the subway attack plot."  
Jack didn't speak for several long seconds.  
"Jack?"  
"I'm here, sir."

"I know this is difficult for all of us, but you know as well as I that this is not the end. We may be facing the biggest terrorist crisis the world has seen in the past 50 years. We have no idea how far the connections run with these people. I need you on board for this. Are you up to the task?"  
"Of course, sir."  
"Are you sure?" Heller asked.  
"I am. Don't worry sir, you can count on me."

FAISAL HASSAN pulled into a warehouse district in western Paris in his car. He got out of his car as the electronic garage metal doors closed behind them. He opened a vault and motioned for several terrorists to follow him. They unlock a padlock and tear open several dusty crates, revealing several surface-to-air missiles.  
He called Mohammed.  
"This is for real this time?"  
"Yes, nobody knows about this except me, my brother, and God."  
"Inshallah."  
"Inshallah."

.We are now shown the exterior of a lab building in DUBLIN, IRELAND. A young brunette man and three followers used their university swipe cards to access the building. They recognize the female student working at the front desk.  
"Nice to see you again, Jake," she said. The computer monitor showed the name JAKE FRANCIS. "You do realize we close in five minutes, and I'm ready to go to the bars with my friends. You should have come with us last time," she said with a friendly smile.  
"I'm sorry, Carolyn," he said.

"So you'll come tonight after you get whatever it is you forgot in the lab today?"  
"No, for this." He raised his gun, and the other men also drew their weapons.  
"I want you to unlock every door in this building, if you want to see you friends, your mummy, your dog again, or that little diploma you're so close to getting."  
"Jake, this is some kind of joke?"  
Jake fired a silenced shot into the Dasani water she was drinking, spilling it. Another terrorist grabbed her so she wouldn't scream. "I'm not in the mood for your usually entertaining antics right now, Carolyn. You will do what I tell you do, or I WILL shoot you. Is that clear?"

……10:00PM


	7. Episode 6

EPISODE 6

EPISODE 6  
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 10:00 PM AND 11:00 PM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (4PM AND 5PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

Jake Francis leaned close to Carolyn. "If I ask my friends here to let go of you, do you promise to cooperate. I promise you will not get killed if you do as we tell you to."  
She nodded desperately.  
"Jake, what is this about?" she asked, trembling. "I never thought you would…"  
"It is not something you will understand, Carolyn, so let's not get into the details."  
"Please, Jake, we know each other," Carolyn pleaded as the other men stood near her making sure she didn't try any moves. "Okay, so you're trying to change the world or something, I knew some of your friends were like that, but…"  
"Not the world, just Ireland," Jake replied coldly. "Now, I know you are a good programmer. I want you to replace the video feed from the last twenty minutes with feed from other evenings, including last night."  
She immediately began going to a computer server and doing what Jake had demanded.

Jack and Pierre are riding in the CTU vehicle through the narrow Paris streets when his phone rings.  
"Jack it's Bill. We got something."  
"Ok, let me put it on speakerphone, ok, done."  
"We've crossreferenced Ajaz, Choudry, and Zibaii's profiles with known suspects on the WET list and they all attended the same radical mosque under Faisal Hassan, who has known collections to Yaffa and Mohammed Abbas. Yaffa and Mohammed are two of the most influential members of the Islamic community in Paris."  
"So what's the plan right now?"

There is a shot of a Continental Airlines plane flying over the Southwestern desert. Richard Heller drinks part of a Heineken beer and opens up MSN instant messenger and types in a brief message, then sends it. He then takes a shot of rum and chases it with the rest of the beer. The look on his face is one of both nervousness and determination.

GALVESTON, TEXAS (NEAR HOUSTON)  
A computer beeps inside a darkened space lit up with computer monitors. A young man shouts something in Russian and gets no response except for the two others close to him He curses in Russian and goes to a door, revealing bright light. The man emerges out of what turns out to be some kind of mobile, high-tech mobile command unit in an RV in an RV campground filled with beachgoers.  
"Yes, Ilya?" asks a man in Russian smoking a cigar and swatting flies. Another was saying something about the heat and humidity here and wondering how anyone would live in a place like this and cursing their leader's choice to accept to work in this place.  
"It is confirmed, Vassily."  
Vassily snaps his fingers and whistles. "Grigory, Misha, let's move out. Contact our other teams."

"The French government has lost track of Faisal Hassan two years ago and haven't heard of him since. It will be difficult politically to even question the Abbas brothers. Mohammed runs the local power company and is a self-made millionaire, in Euros terms. Yaffa is a spiritual man who also does business in stocks and has oil interests in the Persian Gulf."  
"We don't' have a choice, Bill. Is there any way we can do this covertly?"  
"I'm afraid not," Chloe replied from the speakerphone. "We don't know where Mohammed is, and both brothers have guards posted at their homes, workplaces, and mosques. They own so much real estate in Paris its' impossible to hit them simultaneously within an acceptable window of time."  
"We're working on it, Bill. Pierre and DuJour are trying to convince CAT to authorize something. Every minute that passes brings us closer to these terrorists' next attack."

"…following the latest attack to hit Baghdad, British authorities are increasing the number of military forces stationed around the Olympic venues…" Click.  
"Now back to our original story, the President's son Richard Heller, long known for his open hostility toward his father, is preparing to speak at a rally at an undisclosed location." The AIM on Suz Novick's Dell Dimension E310 desktop flashed and made an alert sound.

"You're on a plane here and the press hasn't caught you yet?" Suz typed.  
"Remember I haven't really been in the spotlight yet. I was going to two years ago at that Lockheed rally but my dad got kidnapped, remember? Besides, he's only been President for like two months. Though I kinda worry about the election, ya know?"  
Suz's phone rang so she typed that she had to go and to call her once he lands.

"Hey Sheila," she said, looking at the caller ID. She goes from her living room overlooking a brightly sunlit, verdant lawn with a sprinkler and goes through her bedroom to her walk-in closet.  
"…yeah, I'm still going to dinner with Jason tonight…yeah, I need it….make sure I'm ready for this, he's always good at things like that." She chooses a casual outfit but we see a clearly marked Sunbelt Airlines flight attendant uniform in her closet before she walks out.  
We see a split screen and a young brunette with shoulder length hair is driving and talking on her cell phone in her light green VW Beetle driving down a suburban commercial strip.

"I tried reaching you on AIM earlier," Suz said.  
"That's why I'm calling now, I JUST realized the stuff I ordered on EBay for my cousin's bar mitzvah didn't come in so I have to run to the mall." She laughs. "LOL, so typical of me ain't it." Sheila Cohen thought of how she was always that cute but slightly airheaded girl back when she and Suz went to high school together.

"Kiril, the tracers are still operational?" Vassily asked.  
"Da," the other Russian replied. They are inside their RV driving swiftly down Interstate 45 westbound, heading against the bumper-to-bumper traffic backing up in the evening commute out of the city. "But she must have gotten a new phone."  
Vassily cursed. "You think she is on to us?"  
"Nyet," Ilya replied from the van of the vehicle, monitoring on his computer. "She switched it a week ago yet hasn't changed her schedule at all. Surprising. She always flies out of here twice a week at 8:30AM, stops at Dunkin Donuts on Mondays and Starbucks on Thursday on the way, like before. Things do run so smoothly in this country."  
"Don't worry, Vassily," Kiril said. "These Americans always want the newest model of things, nothing to do with us."

"Yeah, Sheila, I'm been talking with Richard Heller. If my dad and his dad try that wag the dog thing it ain't working this time. So now with this shopping thing I guess Mr. Ingrams will be coming directly to me at the headquarters….yeah, sounds like a plan…ok, I'll meet you at the fountain in 20 minutes."  
"Sometimes I'm nervous about this, I know we have to fight, Suz, but we're going against the President of the United States directly, this is going to have consequences, we don't' know how messy this can get."  
Suz had a determined smile. "That's the point, Sheila."  
"Brother, I am proceeding to the power plant," Mohammed said into his phone. "Are Faisal and his people ready?"  
"Yes."

"Jack, our government refuses to allow any open raid against any of the Abbas's locations. They say we can do surveillance only," DuJour told Jack as they pulled into French CAT headquarters, where Audrey was waiting for them.  
"That's ridiculous!" Jack scoffed. "If these people are planning something they're going to be in the field already. Audrey, call Chloe, get her to center some of our satellites on Mohammed and Yaffa's primary positions."

DUBLIN, IRELAND  
"I want you to call your friends, tell them you cannot go to the bars tonight because you have a headache, and do sound convincing," Jake Francis said to Carolyn. By now she had already replaced the security camera feeds from those taken in several past days. Jake was alone with Carolyn as his men, Patrick, Gladys, and Benny were inside the laboratory building.  
"Hurry up," Jake said into a mouthpiece, "This place must look deserted by the time the police begin the nightly patrols on campus."  
In a biohazard lab, Gladys and Benny took a box containing samples of weaponized anthrax while they went into the hallway and saw Patrick coming out of another room. They emerged into the lobby and Jake ordered Carolyn to get up.  
"What now?" she asked.  
"We're going for a little ride," Jake replied, then took a needle out of his pocket and jammed it into her back, Carolyn becoming limp.

Audrey embraced Jack again, but she had a troubled look.  
"What's wrong, Audrey?" Jack immediately asked.  
"Kim and Chase are on their way to France as we speak. I…I told them that you were alive, when you made contact with me in Russia. They decided to surprise you with a visit evidently. I didn't know until ten minutes ago. Their flight arrives at De Gaulle within the hour."  
"Kim and Chase got back together?"  
"Yeah. Actually Barry Landis convinced her to fight to salvage their relationship. They live with Angela now in Anaheim."  
"Why, Audrey, that's wonderful. Dammit, what do I tell them. Head on the first plane back cause Paris isn't safe?

Suz walks briskly across the skywalk connecting the upper level of the parking garage into the mall, while in a split screen, the Russians are shown in their mobile command unit, Jack is talking into a phone, and Chloe is busy with the satellite at CTU Europe.

WAREHOUSE  
Faisal and several men finished programming their heat-seeking missiles.  
"Help me," he says and barks orders in Arabic and French. Several men carry the cases containing the missiles up some stairs and Faisal unlocks the door to the roof. They are only several blocks from Charles De Gaulle airport.

Inside an Air France plane, KIM BAUER and CHASE EDMUNDS are kissing one another as Angela sleeps soundly. The captain announces their final descent into Paris.  
"I feel so bad about everything that's happened between me and Dad," Kim said.  
"It's not your fault, Kim. It still burns me up, though, that Agent Bern, he was SUCH an incompetent coward, spilling his guts to the Chinese."  
"Yeah, I know, and thanks to that my dad was tortured in China for a month and the Chinese are STILL after him now."  
Angela begins shaking and crying. "Baby, it's alright. Mommy's here."

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE STATION

Split screens show Suz talking to Sheila. Suz says, "We're going to make sure they wont' ignore us anymore, I'll promise you that. You don't know how much power we have." Also shown are VP Novick giving a speech to the stands at Texas A&M University's graduation ceremony, Cheng Zhi speaking rapidly with other Chinese soldiers as he slams down a phone, and Jack and Audrey together. The speech scene then covers the whole screen.

"…and, well, off the record, just so you know, I am ashamed that the Dixie Chicks are from Texas." There is widespread laughter and applause.  
Behind the podium, Heller is approached by Peter Ricardo-Sanchez and National Security Advisor Jeremy McDaniels.  
"As you suggested, the Aeroflot plane Jack circled over eastern Siberia for an hour, the Russians agreed to our inclement weather story, so it got to Tokyo late and passengers continuing to LA were not allowed to deplane. Our agents in Tokyo identified two individuals at the gate as definite Chinese operatives."  
"We need Jack," Heller insisted. "This gives us another 12 hours before the Chinese suspects something's up." He goes back to listening to Novick's speech.

McDaniels muttered under his breath. "Once this threat is over, Jack won't matter anymore."

Faisal Hassan exits the warehouse in his car as the terrorists unload the weapons. They say a prayer in Arabic, then unload a missile and fire it at an approaching aircraft.


	8. Episode 7

EPISODE 7

EPISODE 7  
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 11:00PM AND 12AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (5PM TO 6PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

The missile fired by the rooftop terrorists flies through the air and there are shocked expression back at CTU.

"We just detected a missile launch in southwestern Paris," said Raymond Payne, a CTU analyst originally with the Indianapolis office.  
"Any particular type?" Chloe asked.  
"How can I tell from just a heat signature, Chloe?" Raymond asked.  
Chloe gave him an annoyed and tense scowl. "Well just keep us updated on the situation. Find out what's in the area."  
"We have another launch, this one from several blocks away. The area is just off Charles De Gaulle International Airport."  
"What?" Shari asked in shock.

In a jet cockpit, a German pilot looks at his co-pilot as the jet speeds down the runway.  
"De Gaulle tower, this is Lufthansa 577 to Toronto Pearson airport, thank you for a wonderful stay in Paris."  
"What the hell?" the co-pilot asks as they see a bright spot speeding up to meet the plane.  
The missile goes straight for the cockpit and a fiery explosion swallows the whole screen.

"We have two aircraft down, believe to be civilian airliners!" Shari Rothenberg said from her computer workstation at CTU Europe. "Dammit!"

Bill Buchanan had speakerphone and a split screen shows Jack, Pierre, Audrey, and DuJour listening to everything.

"CTU has highest authority now per the agreement between our governments, ladies and gentlemen," Bill began. "We are at a Level 1 emergency as of now. Maurice," he said to DuJour, the French counterterrorism chief, "Divert all inbound flights to De Gaulle and Orly to secondary airports, preferably in neighboring countries. I'm going to the French government with a recommendation to extend those procedures to airports around the nation."  
"We are detecting a third launch from the original position!" Chloe called out. "Jesus Christ, is it NOT happening!"  
She turned to Morris. "Send the coordinates to the launch sites to Jack and Maurice immediately, see if we have any field teams to back them up."  
"Affirmative," Bill said, "We need to sweep those locations ASAP. Morris, Raymond, I want constant updates on this situation."

"Any positive ID on the planes that were hit?" Jack demanded, not suppressing his emotion. He held Audrey close. "Kim and Chase are inbound to De Gaulle!"  
"I know that," Bill said, "But Jack, we need to focus. Chloe is sending you the coordinates to the launch sites. We have field teams standing by in the area, I'll update you as you approach."

Audrey ran up to Jack. "You're cleared to go with the Marine detachment at the embassy its only a couple blocks away," she said. They are now on their way from French CAT headquarters to the American Embassy in Paris, driving down a wide tree-lined boulevard with flashing sirens.

Back at CTU Europe, things are in chaos.  
"I've gotten Schipol International in Amsterdam on the line but they're confused," Shari said. "Response doesn't seem to be any better in Belgium or Spain. The British have cleared some flights to land at regional airports in Dover and Exeter in southern England while we are just getting responses from Madrid Barajas, Glasgow, and Birmingham."  
"We're going to have to divert the flights already close to the city to Rouen or Calais," Chloe said, "Morris, we need to get Antwerp and Brussels up to date with this."

"What about London?" Ray asked.  
"Forget it. We don't even know if the Olympics are the main target yet. For all we know, everything that's happened so far may just be the second part of these terrorists' warmup."  
"What do you mean a warmup, a suspected VX gas release on the Paris Metro, shootdown of commercial jets…."  
"Don't you remember the day with Second Wave, or the Marwan business, or the Cordelia…"

"I mean, that was just one attack, with Syed Ali and the bomb, after that…."  
The rest of CTU and the public was never told about Peter Kingsley's plot to start a war with the three Middle Eastern countries during David Palmer's administration, nor about the nuclear missile that Habib Marwan nearly used to incinerate Los Angeles, or how close Saunders' virus came to spreading across the nation following its initial release in California.  
"Forget it, Ray, I forgot you don't have clearance for all this classified stuff. Just be glad you're from Indiana where the worst terrorist you had to deal with was probably some abortion clinic bomber!"  
"Jeez, Chloe."

Split screens show Chase, Kim, and Angela still on a plane, Heller and Novick's helicopter lifting off from the football stadium surrounded by college cheerleaders, Mohammed Abbas driving in his car down a French highway, more of Faisal Hassan's terrorist henchman firing another rocket.  
Several police cars show up at the warehouse district but Faisal Hassan takes out his cell phone and triggers a bomb that destroys three police cars instantly and the rest stop. Several terrorists come out from an alleyway and get into a firefight with the French police.

"We have three missiles left," a man says in Arabic amid smoke from the first couple launches. They take aim at the De Gaulle airport control tower, at a crowded part of the international terminal, and at a final plane in the sky.

"Air France 499, this is DeGaulle Tower, your flight is being diverted to Rouen," the control tower said.  
"Roger," the pilot replied. Suddenly, there was static. "De Gaulle tower, come in, repeat, come in."  
As the pilot descended through the clouds, he gasped at the light of bright fires burning in the airport terminal and tower and throughout the neighboring areas.  
There was more static, then another voice came. "This is Brussels air traffic control you are cleared to land at Brussels airport pending the situation in De Gaulle."

Suddenly, the pilot saw a flash trailing the plane and he immediately swung to the left. The missile struck the right engine, sending debris flying through several windows. A door broke open as the cabin lost pressure and a food cart and three passengers were sucked out.  
Kim and Angela screamed as Chase used his body to cover them from the flying objects. A flight attendant was thrown against a wall, then is sent screaming as she is sucked outside as well.

"Brussels tower, we are losing cabin pressure, mayday mayday! We're hit! Repeat, we have been hit by a surface to air missile"

On the ground, the casings of the shoulder launched rockets were left on the ground as the terrorists poured out in several vans, leaning the dilapidated industrial area and taking a service road lining the commuter train and highway lines connecting the airport from downtown Paris.  
"Faisal, it is done," a terrorist said.

Kim was blown nearly across the aisle but her seatbelt saved her. Chase grabbed the oxygen masks and helped Angela and Kim put them on, the three of them huddling closely. Several passengers were crying and screaming hysterically as the cabin lights went out.

The pilot saw a major straight, wide roadway below. There was traffic still, and there was a median with trees, but it was the only option. "Brussels tower, we are attempting an emergency landing at the following coordinates," he said, looking at the computerized display next to him and his co-pilot. He pulled the landing gear. "Separate the cabin barriers!" the pilot said.

This jet had security barriers dividing the first class, economy, and the cockpit plus the upper level, in this new French post-Sept 11 aircraft design. The economy section itself was divided by a barrier. The air began to re-pressurize in Chase and Kim's section of the plane, but they heard the sickening screams of the passengers behind toward the midsection as the cold air came in and they were tossed around like tennis balls. This was the only way the pilot could keep the entire aircraft from crashing.

CTU

"We're receiving comms from one surviving flight, Air France 499. They are attempting to land at Rue Jean Moulin, an avenue through a mixed residential and industrial area. We have two German Lufthansa planes, an Airbus and a DC-10, both down. We also detected missiles hitting the terminal building at Concourse C, international arrivals, and the control tower, which explains the chaos in communications as Rouen, Schipol, and Barajas try to pick up," Chloe gave her update.

"Shari," Bill said, "We just got confirmation from the French President, European Union authorities and CAT. The air traffic grounding order is now in effect for the entire country and London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports. Has the British said anything about CTU activities in the Olympic Venues."  
She shook her head. "Are we going to propose a cancellation of the Games?"  
Bill breathed in and out deeply. "I'll handle that part."

The pilot of Air France 499 lowered his landing gear and the plane came screaming down, we see Chase, Kim, and Angela huddled tightly as the plane tore up the median and knocked down several power lines before coming to a stop in an intersection. Several cars collided with the jet and there was a shower of sparks as the plane hit some storefronts and traffic lights.

Jack and Pierre are in a helicopter approaching the disaster zone. Suddenly, a machine gun opened up and a CTU agent was injured. The pilot of the chopper banked hard and approached several rooftops of warehouses where a remaining terrorist force had stayed to combat the first responders. Jack took control of the heavy machine gun and blasted the man, sending him sprawled on the street below. Jack and Pierre were the first to hit the roof and tossed grenades down several shafts, air vents, and stairwells before bursting into the core of the building. A terrorist popped up around a corner and squeezed off several shots. Jack swung around and took cover as bulletholes covered the wall behind. Jack then whirled around the same time as Pierre and they both shot the terrorist, a bullet nearly hitting Jack.  
"Secure this area!" Jack shouted. "Chloe, any news on flight 499?"

AIRBORNE OVER EAST TEXAS

"So far, Mr. President, we know that several explosions were reported around Paris De Gaulle airport and it appears two aircraft are down and one of the terminal buildings has been hit. We don't know the extent of the casualties yet," said National Security Advisor McDaniels."  
"Air traffic is grounded in all of France and primary airports in Britain, Italy, Germany, and Spain," Peter Ricardo-Sanchez, the Chief of Staff, added.  
"What's the assessment from Homeland Security? Are there indications the French bombings will be followed up by another set of attacks on American soil?" Heller asked via a phone since a videoconference was impossible on this helicopter. They were already well out of College Station and on their way back to Houston. A split screen shows passengers stumbling out of flight 499 and Kim, Chase, and Angela still huddled, and also Suz Novick and Sheila Cohen walking through a Sam Goody record store.

Karen Hayes is in Washington, D.C. "None of our intelligence suggests this, sir. We've upgraded all air travel infrastructure, seaports, nuclear power plants, major landmarks, and public transportation in select cities to red, and the nation as a whole to orange. We will have uniformed military personnel on most long-haul flights out of major hub airports throughout the country."  
"Good, Karen, keep me informed."

"Sir, I know this is awkward," Pete began.  
"You've known me for twenty years, Pete, just speak your mind," Heller said.  
"While we wait for CTU to give us updates on the crisis in France, we still can't discount the Sunbelt issue with China, that in addition to the fact that the Chinese are now actively hunting for Jack Bauer."  
"We bought another 12 hours for him with our fast thinking in Japan. The Chinese will be looking in Los Angeles, not Paris."

"If I may speak, sir, I think this can be used to our advantage," said Secretary of the Treasury Alan Firestone on the radio.  
"I agree," McDaniels said.  
"What are you talking about?" Heller demanded incredulously.  
"Jim" Pete said cautiously, cutting the two men off. He knew what they were going to suggest and it chilled him. "There is nothing we can do about Paris at this point, but the media still has much focus on the Sunbelt Airlines business. The Air China CEO personally arrived at Houston today with an official ceremonial welcome by the Chinese Consulate here. I'm sure you saw our news footage with the protests"

"I know what you're gonna say, like ground all flights, use the French crisis as an excuse? The deal will go on at the deadline the judge ordered, even if we ground every single goddamn plane from Hobby Airport or O'Hare or every airfield in the world!" Heller was visibly frustrated to the point of anger now.  
McDaniels and Firestone grew visibly upset as Pete spoke. "We must consider the option of backing out of the Sunbelt deal. I implore you, Mr. President."  
"Pete," Heller said in a serious tone, "Do you think I'm afraid of Suz Novick, or of Richard??"

"She and him are going to go to Hobby Airport and hold a press conference. I just heard that Senator Yarnal is heading to Houston too," McDaniels pointed out.  
Mike looked up, shocked at where the conversation was going. Senator Jonathan Yarnal of Washington state was the Democratic candidate for the presidency.  
"In the end she's just one little flight attendant whose dad happens to be famous," Nate Williams, the Secretary of Defense, said. "We can handle her."  
Mike exploded. "Nate, you will NOT talk about my daughter that way." He had a look of pure outrage in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, sir."  
Mike continued. "So she's not a bigshot, not following in her family's footsteps like George W. Bush or Wayne Palmer, just a flight attendant, eh? Maybe its time you got off that high horse of yours and think about the REAL people, ordinary, everyday Americans like my Kylie that you're supposed to be serving in that office. If you can't get in touch with real people, maybe you're not fit to do your job. I agree with you that the China deal should be made because we don't have a choice, but I respect, and I love my daughter no matter what comes out of this."  
"Sir….I promise, this won't happen again."  
"Make sure it doesn't."  
There was silence for a long time.

In the mall, Suz Novick and Sheila Cohen walk out of the record store with a Green Day, Toby Keith, and Eminem CDs. There was a third man with them, Sheila's brother Dave. "Yeah, quite a mix my cousin's got in musical tastes," she said with a smile, but both she and Suz knew that they were troubled. Dave said something about having to grow up with Sheila.

"Yeah, Mr. Ingrams will meet me tonight after my dinner with Jason," Suz said, referring to the lawyer representing Sunbelt employees in the business crisis.  
"I'll be there after 8," Sheila said, "My cousin lives in Sugar Lakes, so its gonna take me some time to get to Hobby. Nice new area, though."

Sheila paused for a second. "Ok, Suz, thanks for coming with me. I…."  
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay." Suz gently squeezed her shoulders.  
"Yeah, I'm sorry, but we got to go now," Dave said. "I'll drive," he said to Sheila.  
IN the background, sitting by the mall fountain, Dmitri spoke in Russian into his phone.  
"We have Ingrams and Sheila leaving."

In the mobile command post, Vassily brought up a map of the Houston area then zoomed in at the city of Sugar Land, to the southwest of the metropolitan region. He smiled and made a phone call.

Jack and the CTU agents finished sweeping the room. There is nothing except remaining weapons from the airport attacks.

Chase slowy got out of the seat and helped Kim and Angela up. They walk toward the outside. Hostile mobs were gathering in the distance.

IN a nearby mosque, Yaffa Abbas is speaking to a cheering crowd.  
"Tonight, the glorious warriors of Islam, people who grew up on these banueues with you, rose up and struck at the infidels. Tonight, we will continue the struggle that is only beginning…" Young, mostly Arab, Pakistani, and African men fired weapons into the air.

Bullets whizzed by Jack as a team of attackers burst in. There was a huge gunfight but a CTU helicopter came and straffed the terrorists, shooting four men in the back and an explosion sent several flying through the air screaming.

"Trouble," Chloe said, "Large groups of armed men are congregating near the crash site of the Air France jet.

Bill Buchanan made an announcement to all of CTU. "As a result of the attack an hour ago, Article 56 is in effect. We will now be collaborating fully with French, British, and other European agencies with full sharing of information, intelligence, and technology resources. Make no mistake, people, this may be the greatest crisis in our lifetime."  
…..12:00AM


	9. Episode 8

EPISODE 8

EPISODE 8

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 12AM AND 1 AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (6PM TO 7PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

CTU EUROPE AND PARIS  
Chloe got on the phone with Jack, who is still in a dilapidated industrial building in the southwestern Paris suburbs near DeGaulle Airport.  
"Jack, we have confirmation that Air France 499 has landed on Rue de Jean Moulin, ten miles west of your position. We are still trying to re-establish contact with the cockpit but communications were cut during the crash. We lost contact on impact. Satellite imagery shows moderate destruction on the ground including damage to buildings and vehicles."  
"Hold on, I got something," Shari said. She talked into a headset. "CTU Europe, this is Shari Rothenberg…."  
"Okay!" Shari shouted, "We're receiving a call from the crash site, a cell phone with an area code from Dijon. Looks like one of the customers."  
Bill took the call.

A man with a bloodied forehead, looking stunned, began speaking in French and then switched to English. The first class cabin of the jet was in smoke and he stumbled out of the plane along with the rest of the passengers. There is shouting and several shots fired several blocks away and the man went under the plane.  
"My name is…Claude Binet, I was on…."  
"Mr. Binet, how many casualties are you aware of?"  
"I don't know. I saw some people sucked out of the plane before the cabin was re-pressurized. Binet looked now and saw the body of a young man, not knowing if it was a passenger or someone on the ground in one of the vehicles struck. Hold on, the captain is here, I'm giving him the phone."

Several blocks away, a hostile mob of at least 50 young men had gathered. Many were wearing headbands and ski masks and carrying guns. A split screen shows a burning police station, several attackers going through the parking lot, then that scene covers the entire screen. Faisal Hassan himself was a leader in the mob. He saw two injured policemen on the ground near a burning squad car and walked over with his machine gun drawn.  
"Mouseir, please….", one of the injured officers was gasping, "Don't….."  
Faisal smiled coldly and pumped several rounds into his chest, then did the same to his partner.  
"Get all the weapons you can find in there," he told the men.

Maurice DuJour watched as the files from American and British intelligence finished downloading to his computer workstation, set in a corner of the French counter-terrorism headquarters.  
"Connections are complete," DuJour said into his secure phone with Mohammed Abbas, who is now pulling past a fence into a large power plant complex on the northeast side of Paris. He gets out of his car and goes into the building. A large group of men follow him.  
"Are we ready for the test run, brothers?" he asked in Arabic.  
The lead man from the mysterious group nodded. Mohammed motioned for them to follow him into the building, walking through several checkpoints and into the main generating section of the power plant.  
"Are our comrades on the streets ready?" the man asked.  
Mohammed nodded. "Allah be praised."

TEXAS  
Sheila Cohen watched the scenery flow past for several long seconds as her brother Dave drove her VW Beetle out of the mall parking lot and eased into the afternoon traffic approaching Texas Highway 8, Houston's outer beltway. Traffic was moderate and they moved at a reasonable pace.  
"I'm so sorry this is happening," Dave said as he steered to the left lane to pass a slow-moving Volvo station wagon.  
"I don't know, I've never felt like this before in my life," Sheila said. Even though Dave was her brother, Sheila had never really confided in him the way she had with her female friends, especially Suz Novick. "You know that feeling, Dave, to be powerless? To feel like no one cares about you?"

It hurt Dave to hear her sister like this. Sheila had always been one of the most optimistic, easygoing people in the world, much like Suz. It was a shame the toll the Sunbelt Airlines crisis had been taking on both of them.  
"I bet the Vice President is very torn about his daughter working at the airline with you, like Cheney was with his lesbian daughter. If President Heller and Suz's father are agreeing to the Chinese, it must because they don't have any other choice. I really hope Suz understands that."

The Cohens and Novicks had been almost a second family to one another. Sheila and Suz were best friends growing up, and Sheila remembered those old days when they went each other's houses practically every day.

"To Heller, we're just a bunch of statistics. I REALLY can't believe how Novick can be okay with this."  
"Nothing against Suz, but she'll never have to worry about finding another job. I'm very impressed that she's helping you people out so much."  
"That's cause you don't know her as well as I do. She really believes in the things she's fighting in, its not that rebellion against dad thing."

To Sheila, working for Sunbelt, on the same routes as her "bestest friend" nonetheless, was more than anything she could ever ask for. She couldn't begin to imagine what she would do if this deal goes through. Yes, she could also try to fly with one of the major carriers but practically nobody, except Southeast Airlines, which is losing the bid with Air China, had the kind of intimate, spunky corporate culture at Sunbelt. Plus, as much as she loved her job and traveling, she actually didn't want those glamorous international routes. She loved how she could often fly out in the morning and be back in time for dinner on those hops to Denver or Chicago or San Francisco, with the occasional overnight where she could see the moonlight glittering off the Colorado Rockies of the waves of San Francisco Bay reflecting their patterns against the tarmac at Oakland. Plus, Houston was her home, and for all the traffic, smog, humidity, and even the occasional hurricane, she didn't think she could have it any other way.

"Bill, put me through to the captain," Jack said. Bill did that rather quickly. Though Bill was the the temporary director of CTU Europe, he has learned by now that the best choice was always to trust Jack Bauer.  
"…yes, confirmed, we have large hostile mobs gathering…"  
"There is an American agent named Chase Edmunds on board you plane, I need to speak with him."  
"I'll see what I can do what it's very chaotic around here!"  
"Well get on it! Let me know when you find him!"  
"Dammit!" Jack cursed in the chopper.

THEO STOLLER was sleeping soundly in his bed in his Paris hotel when the phone rang. He jumped up and grabbed it, the caller ID saying it was from the head of German intelligence in France.  
"What is it?"  
"Turn on the news," a male voice said.  
Stoller switched on the remote and saw the tail of the Lufthansa jet burning up along with a French supermarket in the southwestern suburbs of Paris.  
"Paris is under terrorist attack right now. We need you to get to German intelligence office immediately."

"Jack, it's Chase, Kim and Angela are shaken up but not hurt," Chase said.  
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Look, Chase, do know you which seat the air marshal was sitting in?"  
"Yeah I have his weapons already."  
Jack actually smiled a bit in relief. Good, Chase had learned much, even though he was no longer a field agent. "Good, Chase. Look, we have hostile mobs converging on your position, and they are heavily armed with pistols and automatic weapons, north of you, and an additional gathering of hostile persons to your southeast."  
"Understood."

IRELAND  
Jake Francis sat in the back, guarding the unconscious Carolyn as Gladys drove and Benny rode in the front seat. Patrick kept watch in the back as their vehicle drove down the deserted highway toward the eastern Irish coast.  
The terrorists smiled at the news of the plane shootdowns in Paris.  
"Europe has no idea that was only the preview," Jake said smugly.  
Jake's phone rang.

"Yes, Mr. McCourt?"  
"So do you have the package?"  
"Yes, it is on the way to the harbor. It will be on British soil in due time."  
"Good. Arrangements will be made on this end. One more thing, Jake. What about the girl?"  
"What girl?"  
"The one from the laboratory building in the university. My people were observing you, we saw you take her."  
Jake paused. How did Frankie McCourt know this?  
Frankie continued. "I want you to kill her."  
"Sir, she is my frien…"  
"Perhaps you do not understand the sacrifices that our struggle requires, Jake," McCourt replied as he took a shot of Irish whiskey. "And I should not have to remind you who is calling the shots."  
We see a man in a most dark control room with some computer hang up a phone.

The hostile crowd in Paris is even more heavily armed now as loudspeakers from the nearby kabob houses blasted broadcasts from Yaffa Abbas.  
"Chase, this is Audrey Raines at CTU," Chase heard. He had heard of Audrey before but had never met her. "Jack is on with you. Two blocks to your north is a police substation and two blocks east of that is a foreign legion recruiting center believed to have a small armory.

"Jack, it's Bill. We believe Yaffa Abbas is in the al-Hamadi Mosque further down Rue de Jean Moulin. Just came in from CAT."  
"See if you can send any teams there, I need to extract Chase and Kim now!"  
"That is NOT going to happen," a voice bellowed at CTU. It was BRAD HAMMOND.

"Brad, what are you doing here," Bill asked.  
"To make sure how things are going. Why am I finding out about these attacks on BBC?"  
"Sir, we're still trying to contain the fallout and trying to see if this is linked to any potential…"  
"I'll deal with that later. First of all, we need to attack the al-Hamadi Mosque if there's the slightest chance Yaffa is in there. It's our only link to the terrorists if we can capture him alive."

"Brad, this is Bauer," Jack began.  
"I know who you are," Brad said. "You heard my order."  
"Brad, my daughter is in harm's way and I DO NOT work for you."  
"Oh, so you work for Bill right? Provisional basis? I know this isn't L.A., but I am warning you, there will be consequences. I want you to take that chopper to the al-Hamadi mosque and attack it."

Alexandre Pierre suddenly spoke up. "I can lead the assault team at the mosque." He turned to Jack. "You can go with your daughter. We can handle it."  
Jack didn't know what to say, and Brad was silent. Brad opened his mouth to say that that was unacceptable, and that Jack would follow orders, but he didn't.  
"Jack," Bill said, "Brad has a point. We need to take advantage of any window of opportunity that exists to capture Yaffa Abbas. He can potentially lead us to his brother and Faisal Hassan."

"Bill, Yaffa would not put himself close to the action. Unless this is his endgame, which neither of us believe is the case, he's long gone from here. But we DO have a chance to save Kim, Chase, and all those innocent people in that downed plane." Jack was actually thankful he didn't have to make the choice Tony and Michelle did regarding choosing between the ones they love and the lives of countless others. He sincerely believed there was no way Yaffa Abbas would be here anymore.

"Jack, if you do not head to the mosque immediately, it is an act of treason. You do remember what happened to Tony Almeida, don't you?"  
"Brad, shut the hell up." Jack then turned to Pierre. "Ok, here's the plan."

Kim, holding Angela, and Chase and several others emerged onto a wide intersection. A minivan stopped and several armed masked men came out, shouting in Pakistani and Arabic. Chase hid under and barrier with his loved ones as another vehicle came with four more young men in ski masks. Chase handed a gun from the air marshal to another passenger, Louis, following him.  
"We need to make a dash across this street, I'll take the left, and you take the right. The police substation is two blocks across this boulevard and the recruiting center two blocks east of that!"

A helicopter came and straffed one of the cars. The terrorists prepared a rocket and fired it, but the helicopter's guns blasted their car into shreds, causing it to catch fire. The men began to run. Louis fired shots and missed, but Chase stepped to the side of the barrier and fired three gunshots into the chest of a man who was aiming a pistol at them. There were five more armed men from the vehicles, and a much larger crowd below.

"Bill, I'm going to run surveillance for Jack and Chase," Chloe said in a matter of fact manner. Bill could say nothing. Brad Hammond stepped forward but Raymond spoke up. "French CAT can handle the assault."

Maurice DuJour paced around the main floor of CAT, located not far from the U.S. Embassy.

Chase, Louis, and two more passengers made a dash across the intersection. One of the passengers was cut down by gunfire from the minivan.  
From behind, Jack aimed into the windows of the minivan and fired three shots, killing two men inside. Another man grabbed Jack and slammed his hand against the van door, causing him to drop his gun. Jack kicked him in his groin, causing him to send over, then kicked him hard in the head, jerking it backward violently, then slammed it through a van window and twisted it, creating a loud snap. An injured Pakistani gunmen took aim at Chase, but Chase's trigger finger was quicker, firing a shot and causing the man to fall to the street in a widening pool of blood.

TEXAS  
"Ingrams and Cohen are leaving Texas Highway 8 for this secondary road that curves through to the Sugar Lakes area," Grigory said in one of the Russians' vehicles.  
"I am tracking him," Misha said. "Any second now." He is sitting in the driver's of a cement truck and begins to pull out of a 7-Eleven parking lot.

Misha pulled into the traffic of a 4-lane roadway where shopping centers alternated with schools, subdivision entrances, and woods and swampland. "You need to be at the extraction point in 10 minutes," he said in Russian as he turned at a street without a light, emerging onto a two-lane highway going into a wooded area. A split screen shows Sheila and Dave's VW Beetle also driving in a wooded area, Pierre in the chopper and Jack on the street.

PARIS  
"Chase! Kim!" Jack shouted. Another hostile emerged and Jack shot him, killing him instantly. "We need to make a run for the station now before more of these show up."

"Jack, the mobs are picking up speed," Chloe said. "They're popping up all over the place!"

Jack rushed into the police station, where several officers were barricaded. "We're federal agents with the American Counter Terrorism Unit-Europe."  
The cops breathed a sigh of relief. "Any help would be useful," the captain said. "Our men are being slaughtered out there. I cannot believe these people."  
"We need every weapon we can pack right now and tell your officers to head with us to the French foreign legion recruiting center and its armory."  
The police chief began shouting in French and the remaining officers began grabbing weapons, some going to the storage in the basement.

In the power plant, Mohammed Abbas is now in the control room. He has a laptop computer connected with cables into a supercomputer mainframe in the room overlooking several major generators and a view to the cooling towers outside rising into the dark sky. One of the other Arabs in the room typed commands into the computer. Suddenly, the power plant becomes black.

TEXAS  
A computerized display on Vassily's computer inside his RV shows the position of Sheila's car as well as the cement truck being driven by Misha. The two come closer and closer. Vassily dials a number on his secure phone, and Richard Heller answers. He is at the Enterprise car rentals office at Bush Intercontinental Airport.  
"We are in a perfect position to strike Ingrams now. I need final confirmation you want to go through with this," he said in accented but grammatically correct English.  
"Do it," Richard said.  
Misha acknowledges the order and makes one final turn in the wooded area, then floors the accelerator.

…..1:00AM


	10. Episode 9

EPISODE 9

EPISODE 9

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 1AM AND 2 AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (7PM TO 8PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Sheila and Dave are still driving in their VW Beetle.  
"….pretty sure Ingrams has the media credibility to put the right spin on things," Sheila was saying, "I really think we still have a fighting chance."  
Her Texan accent was beginning to show, as it often does when she's agitated or excited.

Vassily continues to track Sheila's VW as well as Misha's cement truck.  
"Around the next bend is the perfect place," Vassily said in Russian.

Misha continued past a red light across another two-lane highway, causing a pickup truck and a jeep to swerve and honk, the driver of the jeep sticking out his middle finger and yelling at Misha.  
"Misha, you are closing in," Vassily said.

Sheila glanced to her right window, and she saw the truck for just a split second. The camera pans away and Misha's cement truck side-rams the Beetle at 70 mph, smashing it and sending it off the road, overturning several times before landing in a swamp. The truck barrled past and also went into the swamp, and Misha opened the door and began swimming to the other end of the bayou.

We see split screens as Misha gets out of the van, a shot of Dave's head a bloody pulp, and Sheila gasping for air. She tried to free herself from the wreck but her legs were stuck. The dump truck then began to capsize and Sheila's face had an expression of horror as she is sucked below the surface as the truck and car sink into the muddy swamp. Misha rushes though the woods and a van with men speaking Russian pulls up and Misha gets in, the van drying away with a squeal in the tires.

FRENCH CAT HEADQUARTERS, LA DEFENSE DISTRICT, WESTERN PARIS

"What in blazes is going on?" Maurice DuJour demanded. "Get CTU on the line immediately!"  
A female analyst was pointing frantically at the display on her workstation, which she enlarged onto the main display in the room.  
"We lost response from the generating station at Neuilly Sur-Marne," she said, pointing to an industrial zone in the eastern outskirts of the city. "It appears a blackout is spreading…."

CTU EUROPE (LONDON, ENGLAND)  
"Yeah, we're getting that too," Bill Buchanan said, "Our people in France are still trying to find out what happened but the outage has spread to Chichys-Sous-Boi."  
"Paris Electrique," Shari said suddenly. "It must be Mohammed, he owns it."Looks of recognition filled the faces of Bill, Chloe, Ray, and the others at CTU.  
"Shari, pull the satellite feed from the past 20 minutes, see if there's anyone coming or going from the power plant at Neuilly Sur-Marne. I want every car and person on foot during that timespan, use the French traffic controls system."  
"Dammit, the time lapse in the overheads is slower than in L.A., but I'm on it."  
Chloe turned to Ray and Shari, "Handle the blackout investigation while I still have to provide intel on Jack."  
"Inform Jack and Chase of the blackout's spread. They're in the western suburbs right now but we don't know what's causing this."

PARIS  
"Dammit, Chase, we need to get into that building if we can stand a chance," Jack said. Several of the surviving passengers from the Air France jet had picked up weapons from the rioters killed by Jack and Chase.  
"Chloe, this is Edmunds, we're under fire!" Chase radioed as several more gunmen came. Jack pulled out a grenade and tossed it. Three men were blown into the air, but they saw several vehicles coming.

Two blocks away, Pierre looked at the scattered lights of the rusting, blighted apartments several miles from Paris DeGaulle Airport.  
"Maurice, this is Pierre, myself and a field assault team is airborne and entering Roissy district, we should be at the Hamadi Mosque shortly."  
"We will provide satellite updates as available," DuJour said.

Split screens show Jack and Chase exchanging shots with attackers inside alleyways and buildings, emergency vehicles with flashing lights and sirens pulling up at the edge of the swamp, and the CTU main floor bustling with activity.

"Jack, Pierre is at the Hamadi Mosque. You have teams of hostiles coming from the east and north. You have to make a break for the recruitment center immediately if you are to stand a chance."

"We're pinned down right now, Chloe," Jack said.  
"Your safest bet is to take the detour around the left, through the car park or the metal shop. You're in the middle of Yaffa and Faisal's territory, the roof of that building is the only extraction point possible."  
"Roger, Chloe."

Jack gave hand signal to Chase and the others. They could hear the armed mob shouting in Arabic and Pakistani as they regrouped and fired guns into the air. They fought their way across a lot filled with the skeletons of burnt out cars and buses. Suddenly, the street lamps became dark.

"Dammit!" Chloe cursed at her computer.  
"The substation at Clichy Sous-Boi and the transmission lines at Roissy have just gone offline. We've lost contact with police headquarters in Clichy Sous Boi and Tremblay-en-France.

Shari spoke up. "We have two vehicles, a Renault sedan, Ile-De-France regional plates 67YTT, that's 67YTT plates, Ile-de-France region. The second is a Pseguet sedan, rental plates, we're checking with local car rental agencies….wait, Orly airport."  
"Got it," Ray said, "It's a company truck, it's been crisscrossing Paris's eastern districts for the past hour or more. I'll going to pull up traffic cameras to identify the driver.

Mohammed Abbas looked at the screen at the spreading blackout, smiling at the Arab engineer. "Excellent work, Abu, I will inform my brother the plan goes forward."  
The blackout has now spread to 3 power substation, dozens of transmission lines, and a quarter of the Paris area was in darkness now.

Jack, Chase, Kim, and Angela and the surviving passengers reach the building housing the French foreign legion recruiting center and Jack uses Chloe's combination to enter it. The office is located in a 15-story building with apartments, located at the edge of the slum where the blight meets new development near the airport.  
"Chase, we need to get the civilians dispersed throughout the building. Head for the armory downstairs."

The building is in chaos, as there are still residents there. Jack goes through several doors and emerges into a lobby facing a street different from the one he came from.  
"My name's Jack Bauer, I'm with the Counter Terrorist Unit-Europe. You need to activate all security measures to seal off this building. The mob outside is armed with weapons, including military-style rifles and explosives."

Pierre's helicopter opened fire on the minarets of the Hamadi Mosque, a large, ornate, Pakistani-style building rising into the night sky. "Put us down in the courtyard!" Pierre ordered the pilot. The choppers hovered over for a while. Suddenly, a trail of smoke came from one of the windows of one of the mosque's outbuildings. The second helicopter was hit by the missile and exploded in midair, crashing onto the mosque grounds, raining flaming debris across the street outside the mosque walls. Pierre hit the ground running, taking cover with three other French agents behind columns in another mosque courtyard.

Several armed men were shouting in Middle Eastern languages.  
"Dammit, you missed!" one voice said.  
"Cut off their escape. Don't let the soldiers get away!" another shouted.

Suddenly, the lights flickered off. The French forces stopped to put on their night vision goggles, one of them being cut down by terrorist gunfire. Pierre twirled around and shot the gunman through the heart, the body and weapon falling to the ground with a thump and a clang. They went into the bathhouse of the mosque and were met with a hail of bullets. Pierre felt a sudden pain in his leg and saw blood oozing out through his pants. He was out of ammo. He whipped out a pistol and fired at the terrorists shooting from above. One man was shot and came tumbling down with a splash in the bathhouse. Another man shot Pierre in the shoulder and he fell over. More shots rang out as French agents fell one by one.

"Hold it!" a voice called out, and out of the corner of his dizzying vision, Pierre saw the menacing face of Faisal Hassan. Another Pakistani terrorist was holding a camcorder, filming the entire thing.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON

BP North America CEO Bob Fraser was riding in a fancy elevator from the roof of the corporate headquarters building toward the ground with President Heller and Vice President Novick.  
"You know, Mike, your daughter can be a corporate flight attendant on one of our jets any time. C'mon, she'll only have to fly with us once every two weeks instead of twice a week. Mostly out West now that we're getting off oil, no more of Qatar or Venezuela or Kazakstan, thank God."

"It's not that simple, Bob," Mike said simply. He didn't want to add that he did NOT want to present this proposition to Kylie. Plus, Bob was a cool guy, but a lot of the directors and managers in BPNA, like any company, were among the most stiff, demanding, elitist snobs ever to walk the earth. "I don't like our situation any more that you or the media or the average American."  
"Look, guys," Fraser said, stepping out into the atrium of the gleaming skyscraper filled with fountains and modern art and colorful lighting. "I don't' want to sound like a broken record, but the Chinese have us backed into a corner. We don't' have any leverage against them."

At this, McDaniels and Firestone, the SecTreasury, gave each other a knowing look. Emerging into the Texas heat, the President and VP both walked toward their limo, escorted by AARON PIERCE. Pierce hands Heller a phone and he interrupts the conversation. "There's a pressing international situation that requires our immediate attention," he said, "We'll be in touch, Bob."

PARIS  
Split screens shows Audrey with a very worried look on her face, Pierre being tortured by Faisal Hassan, Chase Edmunds grabbing night vision goggles and weapons with the other men and Jack receiving the schematics for the building from Chloe at CTU.

"Jack, Chase, the mob is three blocks out. From the north boiler room you can access the sewer system which leads below the main plaza on the east side on the building. You can create improvised explosive devices there."

Faisal kicks Pierre in the face, breaking his nose, blooding coming out over his face.  
"You will tell me everything you know about the Europeans' and Americans' progress on our operation," he said.  
Pierre curses at Faisal in French and the terrorist picks him up and slams his face into a glass display case with a Koran, shattering it.

"You know, Mr. Pierre, your people have a reputation for weakness. Perhaps you are tougher than most, but you are only so tough. Boy." He had an evil smirk on his face. He gave some hand signals to his men and spoke in the Pakistani language.

We see close shots of the attacking mob of violent, gun-toting youths. The first group reached the plaza, lit up along with the building by emergency lighting. With the blackout covering all of the eastern suburbs now, the beacon of light was drawing all of the attackers, hundreds of them.

FRENCH CAT  
Agent Monique Deverux rolled her chair back to the monitor facing the main floor of CAT, set up in a similar design as the CTU office in Los Angeles and CTU Europe, located in London.  
Bright red computerized flashes were popping up all over the outskirts of Paris.  
"Any further communications with the Americans or our neighbors?" DuJour asked.  
"No," Monique replied as she retied her dark brown hair. "Comms are jammed with every foreign embassy trying to evacuate their staff from the city and with Mohammed Abbas's blackouts."

"How can this be happening on our soil?" DuJour asked in an outraged tone, "Any additional information…"  
"Yes," an analyst called out, "Armed irregulars are attempting to penetrate the military airfield in Vélizy-Villacoublay, southwest of the city. We're still trying to get things up to date with the President and the Defense Ministry."  
Suddenly, the lights and all the computers flashed off.

Jack and Chase emerged on a ledge 6 stories above street level where the building juts out, arming themselves with grenades and rockets. Several more of the passengers they had armed had been killed in a skirmish with some of the fighters below.  
"Aim at the center of the crowd, at the vehicles," Jack said.  
Chase nodded. The young reserve CTU agent took out his rocket and aimed, putting a van carrying machine-gun toting men clearly in the crosshairs, then let the rocket fly.  
A fireball rolled through the crowd, killing many of the attackers advancing on the building.

"Chase, how many more do we have?"  
Angela was crying and Kim was trying to comfort her.  
"It's going to be okay, dear, Daddy's going to take care of everything. I just want you to be a brave little girl now, okay? Here, mommy's got you."  
She was trembling herself, but had to make herself strong, to be there to reassure her daughter.

Automatic gunfire flashed across the sky once more as the building defenders let out a barrage of bullets and rockets.  
"We need to retreat further upstairs," Chase said.  
Jack didn't like the sound of this, but as the crowd grew, he knew he had no other choice but to agree with Chase's assessment.

Split screens show Audrey talking frantically into a phone, state troopers pulling the bodies, the cement truck, and the car out of the swamp, Heller talking on the phone with Audrey from inside the presidential limo, Jack and Chase going up stairs, and Faisal Hassan standing over a very bloody Pierre inside the mosque. Next to Pierre, a gravely injured French agent began crawling toward the body of a dead Muslim terrorist.

Chloe is talking to Bill.  
"We traced the rental car at the power plant to Abu Jahah, a known terrorist formerly of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He narrowly escaped the Air Force attack on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He studied computer science at Cairo University and later returned to Baghdad. He comes from a family of prominent Sunni business owners well favored by Saddam Hussein's regime and has been active in the Iraqi insurgency. Joined the insurgency after his family was massacred by Shiite death squads associated with the Iraqi state security services. No doubt he blames America for it."

Shari continued. "It's a computer virus, a worm, actually, part of the Carsolia type. It hijacks computers and is a sort of semi-override device. We believe Abu Jahah programmed it to trigger shutdowns of power systems through the Paris area. It's already made its way into the French police installations and the military and government are equally vulnerable."

"Okay, continuing to track Jahah, we've been cleared to use the NSA and CIA satellites while the military is doing their own thing. We need to find this person and capture him," Bill said.

Faisal had already sliced two of Pierre's fingers off and pulled out large chunks of his hair.  
"You know, I would wish nothing more than to watch you like this, for the next ten hours or so," Faisal said with a laugh and a sneer. "You deserve to suffer like an animal, for everything you have done to our people." Faisal spat.

"Like keeping us in these ghettos and spitting upon the Koran, forcing our daughters to follow the ways of the infidel!" another terrorist shouted. "You….you people tell us lies about the French life, and THIS is what you give us?" he screamed in rage. "Working crap jobs, being treated like rodents? You….you polluted my daughters mind, made her dishonor my family, and my brother had to kill her. You deserve to pay for everything you have done to us."  
"You….are….in..my country…you motherless …go back to Saudi…"  
Faisal kicked him in his stomach, knocking him over onto his back. "Look around you, infidel, does this look like France to you? Do you REALLY still think you are in control?" he shouted in a rage.

Suddenly, a shot rang out, and two other terrorists fell dead. It was the French agent from above. Faisal opened fire several times, blasting the upper walkway of the bathhouse with his automatic weapon. Pierre tripped Faisal and grabbed his gun. Another terrorist fired two shots but missed, causing the stained glass windows behind to shatter. Pierre aimed at the man and shot him through the dead. He then tackled Faisal, the two men grappling with each other. Pierre finally grabbed Faisal's knife and jammed it into his throat, slicing it. Pierre then used the strength he had left to reach into Faisal and get his secure phone.

….2AM.


	11. Episode 10

EPISODE 10

EPISODE 10

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 2AM AND 3 AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (8PM TO 9PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

AIRBORNE OVER NORTHERN FRANCE  
The dark French countryside spread out below the private helicopter as Yaffa Abbas took out his secure phone, calling Abu Jahah, who is in a car driving away from the power plant along with Mohammed Abbas.  
"I am on my way to the primary target right now. Excellent work with the virus. The hand of Allah is guiding us tonight," Yaffa said.  
"The virus is ready," the Iraqi programmer said. "I hope our allies are up to the task."  
"I assure you, we have the best people collaborating with us," Yaffa said in Arabic.

"Their skills are unquestionable, but these things must be matched by their conviction, their belief that the cause is just and righteous."  
"I assure you, mujahid, these people do not want money. They believe in what we are about to do."  
Yaffa disconnects the call and places another call to Faisal Hassan.

A split screen shows the phone in Pierre's hands, Pierre very weak and bleeding out over the floor. There was shouting in Arabic. Pierre used it to dial Jack Bauer.  
Another part of the split screen shows a large gang of rioting thugs armed with firearms beating the bodies of the victims of the police helicopter shootdown, just outside the mosque. A riot leader speaks into a phone in Pakistani and there is no answer. He makes hand signals to the mosque.

Jack is in the high-rise building where he and Chase and Angela are holed up with survivors from the airliner crash as well as building residents. Jack and Chase emerge into an elevator lobby on the 6th floor. "Kim, get Angela to the penthouse!"  
His phone rang, it was Pierre.  
"Anything new?" Jack asked. "Things are out of control here. I'm with another agent and some armed civilians inside an apartment building above the French foreing legion recruiting office. We have weapons…"  
He could hear Pierre gasping for breath. This was not sounding good.  
"….ambushed…..mosque…."

"Pierre, I need you to slow down. Tell me what happened."  
"Jack….you were right…the mosque…."  
Jack turned to Chase. "Dispatch any nearby available field teams to the Hamadi Mosque immediately."  
"I'll on it."  
"…DuJour….is helping…."  
The rioters in the mosque burst into the bathhouse area and there is a heavy exchange of gunfire. Several gunmen step inside and are cut down but more come and several of them shoot multiple machine gun rounds into Pierre.  
"Oh God, no," Jack said.  
Split screens show the rioters on the street regrouping for another attack on the apartment building, Sheila and Dave being placed in body bags in an ambulance, Novick and Heller talking with their advisors, and Abu Jahah typing into his laptop.

HOUSTON, RENAISSANCE MARRIOT HOTEL GREENWAY PLAZA

There is an aerial view showing the Reliant Center and the Marriott Renaissance hotel amid the dusky city skyline.  
FOX NEWS IN BACKGROUND: "…more from France as the development continues. Meanwhile, Democratic challenger, Senator Jonathan Yarnal, is set to arrive in Houston on his private plane from Seattle to address the planned rally at William P. Hobby Airport, a major hub for Sunbelt Airlines. The Vice President's daughter, Suzanne Kylie Novick, a flight attendant for Sunbelt who has always been outside the spotlight is expected to be present…"

Mike shook his head and changed the channel to MSNBC.  
"…may be followed by a massive strike at other airlines and air freight operations and perhaps even spread to Greyhound and ports that could cripple the nation's transportation infrastructure…"  
The setting sun as a backdrop, National Security Advisor Jeremy McDaniels walks past Mike Novick, motioning to him that the briefing is ready in the other suite.

They walk into the adjacent hotel suite on the top floor of the hotel, where most of the top staff present on the campaign trail were gathered.  
McDaniels brought up a map of the Paris region.

"The latest situational update from CTU Europe and British intelligence tells us that French CAT has just become operational again following the reboot of their emergency computer system which was affected by the blackouts. We believe a virus was responsible for what has happened to the power grid, and it has spread to all intelligence and police agencies."

"Essentially the French government, police, and military based in Paris are cut off completely," said Secretary of Defense Nate Williams. "There is confusion among military bases to the south of the city and some generals are in communications with the British about restoring order but the entire command structure in France is dysfunctional as of now."

"In addition," McDaniels said, bringing satellite photos of burning buildings and chaotic Parisian streets, "Homegrown militant Islamic forces in the Paris suburbs have rallied into armed gangs and we believe at least 700 people have already been killed in rampages by armed gangs. The same suburbs that erupted in riots last time. Satellite imagery indicates that the rioters are heading for the heart of the city."

"Have we discussed a military option with our allies in other NATO states?" Mike asked simply. "If these people reach central Paris, it will be an international catastrophe."  
McDaniels replied. "Again, communications is only starting between the British emergency response and French military units stationed south of Paris, beyond the radius of the computer virus."

"We need to get it straightened out about who in France is leading the response," Heller said. "Any news from London?"  
"Jim," Mike said, "I just got off the phone with Prime Minister Landsdowne. He is hesitant to call for a cancellation of the Games but he and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) have agreed to a one-day suspension of competition to commemorate the lives lost in the Paris attacks."  
Heller nodded. "Between this crisis and the Sunbelt mess I doubt the media will be covering the Norway vs. Brazil soccer opener anyway."  
"The press is demanding a statement from you," Laura Johnston, the press secretary, said. "Both on the airline issue and the France crisis. I can't keep them waiting like that."  
Heller nodded. "Tell them I'll be holding a press conference later tonight outside the hotel. What's the analysis from CTU?" Heller asked.  
"We believe only the person responsible for creating the virus can stop it."

PARIS APARTMENT BUILDING

"Jack," Chloe radioed in from CTU, "You have groups of hostiles inside the elevators and other heading up the stairwells."  
"Are we getting any reinforcements?" Jack asked. "We're running low on ammo and there's more and more of them coming."  
"Did you talk to Pierre yet?"  
"Pierre's dead, Chloe. He was trying to tell me something, like he believes DuJour has something to do with this."

"The top French counterterrosim official?"  
"Yes, I know this doesn't make sense, but we need to get out of this alive first before we can try to figure things out."  
Chloe was trembling. "Jack, I'm scared," she said. "Sometimes I just don't know what this world is coming to!"  
"Chloe, I need you to focus. Think about everything we've been through. We've gotten through those things, and we WILL get through today. I made a promise to Audrey today, and I'm not going to break it."  
"Ok, I'll try," Chloe replied, the level of confidence in her voice not reassuring to Jack.

Chase and Jack went into the elevator shaft on the 11th floor and saw two elevators rising rapidly. They placed explosive charges in the shaft and dropped satchel charges down. The two agents ran as quickly as they could away from the core of the building as the explosives denoated, destroying several walls and sending dust and debris flying.  
A door burst opened and Jack tossed a grenade, killing several attackers. Chase squeezed off several rounds, killing six armed rioters, and they retreated further to the roof.  
"Jack," Chloe said. "There's a French Army chopper inbound, ETA 5 minutes. We've gotten in contact with the base at Le Bourget."  
"Roger."  
"That should be enough time," Chase said.  
Jack didn't' say anything.

HOUSTON  
The camera shows a young man dressed in a designer suit walking out of a restaurant into the outdoor dining area, located on a porch-type setting surrounded by magnolias and weeping willows. The song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter plays softly in the background in the restaurant's radio as he sits down at candlelit table with Suz Novick, who looks emotionally drained.  
"Like I was saying, Jason" Suz said, "All of a sudden I'm in the national spotlight. I hate to consider the possibility that the Chinese chose Sunbelt just because I work there and they are doing this as a way to get at my father."

Jason handed her some extra butter for the bread. The plates indicate this is a Morton's Steakhouse restaurant. "Nah, they just want an easier industry to get into, and Sunbelt was on the rocks ever since the crash in Jacksonville. You could blame it on the mechanics. And on all those high-speed rail proponents with their ridiculous magnetic train plans to link us with Dallas and New Orleans. Remember, nobody even really paid attention to you back then."  
Even after her dad became Vice President following the Logan mess, she still was surprisingly able to keep a low profile, but not anymore.  
"I know how things are between me and dad, but, you know, deep down I really wish things didn't have to be this way."

"Yeah, I remember when you were first hired, how excited you were, you nearly knocked me down trying to embrace me. Better than any quarterback I played against in high school," he said with a smile. Suz had to respond with a cute grin, brushing her beautiful dirty blond hair back and looking at him with her dazzling green eyes.  
"So your dad wanted to talk to you today," he said.  
She gave him a knowing look. "He told you about our conversation, didn't he? So is he, umm, asking you to ask me something for him? So typical, ain't it?"

"Well, Suz, we're not here to discuss you and your dad, but if you want to know, I'll tell ya. But remember, you're the one that matters to me, not him."  
Suz gave a funny look. "Go for it, I'll see what else is new."  
"He and Heller got tickets on board your flight to California tomorrow. The man of the people image, flying coach on a low-cost carrier, PLUS the family man, then they're going to take a bus into Oakland and volunteer at a soup kitchen with the cameras rolling. They can't win California without the minority votes."  
"I never thought I'd be surprised about what my dad and Heller could do, but I guess they never cease to amaze me.  
"In the office today, Carlos was comparing you to that "good girl" Audrey."  
"Don't even get me started about her."

PARIS  
The French military helicopter arrived out of nowhere, since it was a moonless night and the only light came from the fires below. All of Paris was pitch black. The chopper made a pass and fired heavy machine gun rounds into the windows of the apartment building where the attackers had congregated and landed on the rooftop. Kim carried Angela onto the aircraft, then Jack and Chase boarded with the others.  
"Jack," Chloe radioed, "The troops will be taking you to Le Bourget, where the U.S. military also has a presence."

Jack couldn't say anything about DuJour since they were surrounded by French soldiers. Hopefully these troops have not been in contact with CAT.  
"Chloe, I need to speak with the President," Jack said. .

CAT

Monique Deverux looked up from her workstation. "Comms are starting up again. So far we still don't have any idea where the virus originated and we are still vulnerable. We are on backup power, this will last for 12 hours before it shuts down too."  
DuJour nodded as he went into his private office and closed the door.  
"Yes, our fighters confirmed it, Faisal has martyred himself along with many brave holy warriors," Mohammed said.

"And you are sure Bauer has seen the phone?"  
"We cannot take any chances. Our people and your tribe have both staked too much. It is the first time in generations that a strike like this is within our grasp."  
"I will have Bauer taken into custody and I will handle him. It should not be a problem. Have my people received the virus from the Abu yet?"  
"Yes, it was transmitted twenty five minutes ago. I wish the best for your success in your war," Mohammed said. "But we will be standing by just in case."  
"Hopefully I will not need you anymore, but that would be appreciated."  
He cut the connection.

Split screens show Jack and Chase in the French transport helicopter lifting off across the Paris's slummy housing projects, the van with Jake Francis, and then back to the restaurant in Texas.

"You know, no matter what happens tomorrow, life goes on. You're always going to be you, and that's what I love so much about you. Nothing will ever change that," Jason said as he took a sip of red wine and began eating his juicy steak. "When I got into that accident, I thought I didn't have anything to live for anymore. I was set to be star player at Wisconsin but I lost everything cause my friend was a fool and drank fifteen shots before getting into his car. But, you know, I had to move on, and here I am now."  
"Not bad I'd say," she smiled. She didn't have to mention that he was the reason they were living in their nice big house and enjoying this fancy dinner. Suz had made it a point never to use her dad for money or connections. He took out something and placed it on the table. It was a wedding ring.

"No matter what happens in the next couple hours, I," he hesitated briefly, "I will always love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."  
She seemed dazed and at a loss for words.  
"Will you marry me, Suz?" he said.  
Suddenely her phone rang and she was silent for several long seconds. The phone kept on ringing and she looked at the caller ID.

"Mr. Ingrahms?" she asked, "I thought we're meeting at the airport…"  
"Yes we are," he said as we see a split screen of him walking down a hallway. "But unfortunately I have some terrible news to tell you. Sheila Cohen and her brother Dave have been killed in an accident near Sugar Lakes."  
Suz dropped the phone and Jason immediately got up to help her, attracting glances from the other patrons.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND  
A man played by DONALD SUTHERLAND walks down a set of stairs at a dusty pier onto the sandy shore. He looks very worn and is dressed in raggedly clothes.  
A car pulls up and the driver is Jane Saunders. He hands her a large suitcase.  
"Jane, I'm so glad to see you again," he said.  
"I can't believe you're going through this after all you've done for Britain and America."  
"We all knew it when we joined," Sutherland's character said. "My only regret is my son, not being able to say goodbye to him. It pains me to see he's gone down the same path I have, and look where it's taken him."  
Jane paused. "Your son is…no, that can't be serious."

…….3AM


	12. Episode 11

EPISODE 11

EPISODE 11

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 3AM AND 4 AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (9PM TO 10PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, UK, SOUTHWEST OF LONDON  
Jane Saunders and the Donald Sutherland character sit down on a rusty bench next to the forlorn-looking pier stretching out into the darkened harbor lit by floodlights. This former agent's disguise and the fake ID he always used was that of a retired shipyard worker, but she knew he had other ones. It really wasn't her job to question him. She was just supposed to maintain contact with him and give him updates about MI6 and the going-ons in the British and other European intelligence communities. Besides, she was exhausted after the emergency investigation MI6 had ordered in the Republic of Ireland, one that had resulted in nothing, and she had to take another flight from Dublin to Southampton.

"Yes, my son is an American agent with an agency called CTU, the Counter Terrorist Unit. He was in the Los Angeles office. I haven't talked with him ever since Pakistan. You know that Sheikh Ravids people are still hunting for me. If they found out about my son, they will kill him too. You didn't know until now, Jane?" he asked quietly in a sad voice, the fake British accent fading away into American English.

Jane Saunders shook her head. "Well I assume he must he in these packages I give you, Clyde. I've never seen what's in them, or the stuff you send us. Maybe something useful with your Israeli and Australian friends."  
"Jane, I don't know how to tell you this," Clyde said, "But my son's name is Jack Bauer. Unfortunately you will remember him from your days in America."  
Jane suddenly froze. A feeling of dread, terror, and finally loathing toward Jack spread through her.

"He, he tried to kill me…."  
"Because your father Stephen, another man I knew, was going to release the virus all over America. Besides," he added.  
"Besides what?" Jane demanded.  
"Jack knew your father well enough that he knew he would not have to let you die. He's, he's taken chances with people much closer to him that you. But, that's another story. First," he said, pointing to a briefcase, "Remember that gets to Luther in due time. It has something to do with what is happening in France….and, I know this is difficult for you, but I would like to see my son again if you can help arrange that."

LE BOURGET AIRBASE, PARIS

There was chaos with soldiers running in every direction and jeeps driving throughout the facility yard as the French military helicopter landed, Jack getting out. There was a Marine Corps helicopter waiting nearby, as well as a Gulfstream V executive jet owned by the CIA.

The two men walked away from the loud noises of the airfield as Kim and Angela followed. They walked into an indoor waiting area as the Gulfstream prepared for takeoff.  
"So what's the plan, Jack?" Chase asked eagerly.  
"I'm not sure yet, but your plan is to get on that plane."  
"Jack, you're kidding," Chase said, not knowing if Jack was joking.

"No, Chase, it leaves in five minutes. I got a call from President Heller, and he wants you on a special assignment. You're on reserve at CTU, remember?"  
"Jack, but I just helped these people survive back in Paris." Chase suddenly grew angry. "You talked to Novick or Heller didn't you?"  
"Yes, I did," Jack said. "Your primary responsibility is to my daughter and the daughter you and her are raising. You think I like what I'm doing? When this is over, I am resigning from CTU forever and never looking back."

"Oh, Jack," Chase said, "How many times have you said that before. Yet something always drives you back. So you're just asking for me to walk away from this?" he waved his arms at the military action around the airfield outside. "We are in the middle of a crisis!"  
"The president does need your help. You will be on the ground in Houston in 7 hours. You are aware of the Chinese business deal aren't you? We believe there may be threats to the…"

"My GOD Jack, you want me to do, like Secret Service…"  
"You will be briefed on the plane."  
"This is crap, Jack. What, Heller couldn't get someone from CTU Houston…."  
"No he couldn't. You will be briefed once you're airborne. And to be honest, Chase, I don't like you going to Houston either. I had to somehow give you an alternative to staying in France and Houston happened to come up. If I had my way you and Angela and Kim will be flying back HOME and you going back to your company and doing what you promised."

Chase shook his head. "I don't believe this. Talk about being a father, we're, I am too, trying to create a better world for our children so they don't have to grow up looking over their shoulder every time they get on the subway, or wondering which guy at the mall would have a bomb strapped to his chest!"

"That's ENOUGH, Chase. The President gave you a direct order. This conversation is over, and with my daughter, you had better keep your end of the bargain. Jack stormed out and walked back toward the French helicopter.  
"Come on, Chase," Kim said. "My dad cares about you, and he doesn't want anything to happen to you."  
Chase breathed out deeply. "God, Kim. Get we have a plane to catch."

A split screen shows Jane Saunders driven along a British motorway toward London, Yaffa Abbas flying on a helicopter with several other terrorists, CTU scenes, and then Jake Francis.

OCEAN AT NIGHT

Carolyn was waking up now, and they are on a deserted piece of coastline. They are in a private speedboat and Jake and his terrorists do not know she is awake now.  
"Hey, Jake," Benny said from the back as they approached the British coast. "We should have killed the girl a long time ago. Old Frankie won't be too happy with this."  
"I am much closer to him that you think," he replied simply, "Like always, no worries."

The lights of the coast were dim as another vessel, a harbor patrol boat, pulled up.  
Carolyn slowly untied herself and pretended to still be unconscious as Patrick came in.  
"Gladys, Jake, she's fine," he said. Patrick then brushed his fingers across her face and sniffed her. "You know, Carolyn, it's a shame Old Frankie probably won't let you celebrate our day of freedom with us. Quite a shame, really, such a nice, pure Irish girl." He kissed her. "Just know that we are doing this for our people."

As Patrick turned and walked toward the door, Carolyn got up, took a lamp, and smashed him in the head, knocking him against a wall. Patrick turned around and Carolyn kicked him in the face, slamming him against some drawers. Carolyn then picked up a metal chair and struck him with it, knocking him out. She could now hear voices near the window, and was about to call out to the harbor patrol boat when she heard the conversation begin.

"Vaughn Donahue himself," Jake said. "The good, British patrol boat captain."  
Donahue, the harbor patrolman, laughed. "It is easy to learn an English accent, though hopefully when this is over we can return to our homeland and I will never have to live and act like our revolting imperialist enemies again."  
"Our united homeland," Jake said with a smile and a wicked glint in his blue eyes. "Long Hail Eire."  
"To Ireland."

Jake Francis watched as the patrol boat with the package he had just delivered sailed off into the dark night.  
Jake and Gladys then went back into the interior of the pleasure craft. "Benny, steer us to our docks, will ya?"  
The boat turned to the southeast.  
"Patrick?" Jake called out. There was no answer.  
"Damn it," Gladys said in his thick Irish accent.  
The two terrorists went through the door and saw Patrick on the ground, immediately drawing their guns. "Look everywhere!" Jake ordered, getting on the intercom with Benny.

CAT HEADQUARTERS, PARIS

The military chopper took off into the black night after dropping Jack off on the helipad on top of the CAT headquarters in the La Defence district, the only area of concentrated skyscrapers in Paris.  
Monique Deverux and several armed agents were waiting.  
"I need to speak with CTU," Jack said. "There have been new development…."  
"No, Agent Bauer," Monique said in a harsh, authoritative tone. "You are under arrest for abetting known terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder."  
"What?"

"It's no use, Bauer, its over." Monique sent her knee into Jack's groin, Jack doubling over in pain. "This is for everything you helped these people do to my country tonight." She looked straight into his eyes. "I will look forward to the interrogation. And you know, your conspirator, Ms. Raines, we have her caught too."  
"Audrey has nothing to do with…"  
A CAT agent raised his gun. "No games, Mr. Bauer," he said, cuffing him. "Let's go."

They brought him down several floors in an elevator, emerging in a cell block in the interior of the high-rise building. Jack saw Audrey and looked toward her.  
"Jack!" Audrey shouted. "What the hell is going on?"  
Three guards were left to guard the prisoners as Monique and the others left for the situation room.  
"We have Bauer in custody," she said to DuJour.  
DuJour smiled. "Perfect. I will handle the interrogations personally."

HOUSTON

Tears streamed down Suz Novick's face as she rode along with Jason Faulkner driving, her boyfriend passing over cars on the evening traffic. There was a sign for the employee parking area at Hobby Airport. The media was here in full force, including many from foreign countries. Besides her grief, Suz had a look of determination on her face.  
"Suzanne!" an older male voice called as she got out of the car.  
A grey-haired man with glasses wearing a suit with a light blue tie came forward.  
"Senator Yarnal," Suz said, shaking his hand.

Jason did the same. "It's a pleasure, sir."  
Suz turned to her boyfriend and whispered in his ear. "I'll handle it from here."  
Jason nodded. "I'm here if you need me."

They kissed and she went with Yarnal.  
"I'm so sorry about your friend," the Washington state Senator said.  
"This is all my father's fault. If he hadn't put us in this position, having to fight for our company, this wouldn't have happened."  
"I can't disagree with that," Yarnal said simply. "Your father and Heller's whole administration is a mistake."  
"Damn straight," Suz said.

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, LONDON  
Frankie McCourt walks into a dining room in a London flat overlooking narrow streets with double-decker buses amid a British rainfall as his secure satellite phone rings.  
"Frankie, it's Donahue, there is a problem."  
"What?" Frankie was outraged. "Vaughn, what do you mean a problem? We have planning for this day for years."

"Jake Francis failed to kill the girl. She escaped."  
"Dammit, I WARNED Jake not to take any chances."  
"I will kill Jake Francis on your orders, Frankie," Donahue said from his vessel as it docked in a British port town in southern England.

"We have more important to things to worry about now. I will handle Jake. This means we will have to move up the timetable for our attacks. The British will have less time to consider our demands." He paused for a long time and took a shot of his Irish whiskey. "Maybe it isn't so bad. Are your teams ready for the first wave of attacks?"  
"We have been ready since the day Celtic Cross was born, the day the English spilled our blood on the soil of our ancestors."  
"This is the spirit that will carry us to our liberation and vengeance, Vaughn. May the real Games begin."

CAT HEADQUARTERS

DuJour ordered the guards to open the door to the cell block and walked in. He then ordered that Jack and Audrey be taken to separate interrogation rooms, where they can see each other but the rooms were soundproofed.  
He saw a female interrogator go into the room. She roughed Audrey off.  
"You're making a mistake," Audrey said. "Jack Bauer and I have nothing to do with these terrorists."

Suddenely, Jack and Audrey froze as another man walked through the door into the corridor separating the two holding rooms. It was THEO STOLLER.  
DuJour typed something into a keypad on a computer on the wall, deactivating the soundproofing so both Audrey and Jack could hear Stoller, and each other.  
"At a loss for words, Mr. Bauer and Ms. Raines?" DuJour asked.

"You're the one helping terrorists!" Bauer glared at him, "You had Pierre killed by Faisal Hassan's thugs."  
The guards, Stoller, and DuJour burst out in laughter. "If you are hoping to get an insanity plea, it is not working. Stoller here will ensure that you be secretly be sent to France's version of Gitmo."

Stoller looked at Jack, then glanced quickly at Audrey.  
"It makes perfect sense, to think of it," Stoller said to everyone. "Jack destroyed my investigation into Collette Stenger. Collette had dealings with the Abbas brothers, Faisal, and Abu Jahah. In fact she met regularly with Abu Jahah in Germany. All these terrorists also happened to be on that WET list."

DuJour smiled. "You see, Bauer, the game is up. Why did you help Faisal Hassan and Mohammed and Yaffa Abbas launch the attacks on this country? We'll give you some time to think it over."  
Stoller walked up to Jack before he left. "I read your file, Jack Bauer. If you don't talk quickly, and tell us if the Abbas have any more plans, or who they are dealing with, I will call China to tell them you are alive. I promise you, you would rather be in a European prison than a Chinese one." He slammed the door shut, leaving Jack and Audrey alone with the interrogators.

Split screens show scenes in both interrogation rooms, Suz Novick, Carolyn swimming toward the shore, and Mohammed Abbas's helicopter flying over the English Channel, and Benny, Jake, and Gladys kicking down doors on the boat searching for Carolyn. We finally go to Frankie McCourt in his flat. He looks down at a map of the Greater London area.

……..4AM.


	13. Episode 12

EPISODE 12

EPISODE 12

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 4AM AND 5 AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (10PM TO 11PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

PARIS AND CTU EUROPE  
A Renault sedan with Mohammed Abbas and Abu Jahah are driving along a deserted street with rioters streaming past them. They are finally in a quieter part of town with abandoned warehouses and factories.  
"I only wish," Abu Jahah said, "I could be the one to follow up on the next attack."

CTU EUROPE

Bill Buchanan pointed to a large display on the screen showing Jahah with his family. "His first wife Ramara, his son Khalid and his daughter Zaima live in Le Havre. I'm having the British MI6 field teams there take them into custody."  
"Are you sure, Bill?" Chloe was asking. A screen showed footage of armed agents in body armor setting up positions in a poor neighborhood in Le Havre, France.  
"Yes, Chloe, we may need some leverage once we snatch Jahah. Our teams in Paris are ready to strike."

"What's your plan for Jahah's family?" Chloe asked.  
"We're going to take them to the city center," Bill said, "Put them in harm's way so Jahah will be forced to cooperate."  
"You learned that from Jack, didn't you?" Chloe asked. "We're risking the lives of three innocent people. These mobs are like a bunch of crazed wolves, they're destroying everything in sight."

"And these crazed mobs are here because of the virus Abu Jahah used." Bill turned to Morris. "Any new updates from the situation on the ground?"  
"Wait, something just came in. Dammit, it says that…" he paused.  
"What is it Morris?" Ray, the techie from Indianapolis, asked.  
"A new alert from French CAT says that Jack Bauer and Audrey Raines are in custody for abetting the terrorist's in these attacks. They…arrested the daughter of the President of the United States."  
"Dammit!"

HOUSTON

"Dammit, he won't like this….are you sure…I don't want speculation, I want facts!" Mike said. "Get back to me when you can." He hung up his cell phone..  
He looked immensely troubled, shaking his head and his brows were furrowed.  
"What is it, Mike?" Heller asked after staring out the window at the spectacularly glittering city skyline.

"The French have arrested your daughter and Jack Bauer and are interrogating them at CAT Paris headquarters at this moment. They are accused of helping Abu Jahah, the Iraqi terrorist, spread the computer virus into France's networks and creating this crisis."  
"WHAT??" Heller asked in absolute shock and outrage. "My daughter would NEVER do something like that. Neither would Jack Bauer. They have been fighting terrorism for YEARS!" Heller slammed his fists into the fancy mahogany table, sending half of the wine in his glass splashed across some papers and some on his suit and tie. "This is freaking insane!"

Mike breathed out slowly. "I don't believe these allegations for a minute."  
"Of course you don't. I demand to speak to the CAT director immediately."  
"He can't be reached. We don't even know how long they can maintain contact, their systems are in reboot but the virus is still making its way through the French IT and telecommunications networks. Let me remind you, Jim, we don't even know what the next target it. The only logical target would be London, but we don't have concrete info."  
"When these comms get back online, I will PERSONALLY see that DuJour is relieved of duty and spends the rest of his career directing aid shipments in Africa!" Heller shouted.

CAT HEADQUARTERS, PARIS

The female interrogator with Audrey, which her nametag identified as Rachelle, prepared some drugs in a needle.  
"You are making a mistake, Rachelle," Audrey said, looking into her eyes and trying to gain some sympathy. "My father is the Secretary of Def…no the PRESIDENT of the United States of America."  
"The evidence against you and Bauer came from DuJour himself," the other interrogator, Jean, said.  
"Europe is a democracy," Rachelle said, "So don't even try to hide behind your father."  
"What evidence?" Audrey asked.  
Rachelle had to give Jean a look. Audrey saw this and knew that these agents must not have been told anything by DuJour except to get a confession, or even simply to torture them.

"Just tell us the truth," Rachelle said. "Or we'll have to get rough on you."  
"You mean torture me?"  
"I don't want to have to do that, so please cooperate with us."  
She finished preparing the drugs and gave the needle to Jean.  
"Ms. Raines, what do you know about Abu Jahah and Yaffa and Mohammed Abbas? What is their next target?" Jean demanded.

Jack was looking at the events in Audrey's holding room through the transparent glass and he made eye contact with Audrey, giving her a nod. Jack suddenly got up and as the guard tried to seduce him, he punched the man in the stomach and backfisted him in the face, knocking him out. The other two agents drew their weapons as Jack went through the door, the agents firing at him with live ammo. Jack kicked one man's gun away and knocked him out, then threw the other one through the glass, shattering it. Jack fired several shots as the man reached for his gun, the agent deciding wisely to flee out of the room.

At that moment, Audrey grabbed the needle and pressed it into Jean's arm, making sure the dose wasn't strong enough to do him serious harm, just disable him temporarily. After all, she knew all about these drugs since the day she was subjected to much larger doses of them due to Christopher Henderson's decision to frame her for helping Vladimir Bierko. She grabbed Rachelle's arm and twisted it, the woman crying in pain. She then sent her knee into her face and knocked her over a table. Audrey grabbed the weapons and access cards from the moaning agent and grabbed her hard. "I'm sorry," Audrey said in a manner that was surprisingly genuine before she slammed Rachelle's head against the wall, the female agent falling on the floor. Audrey made sure she was not hurt badly and then joined Jack in the corridor.

CTU

"Chloe, Bill, this is Jack," Jack said, knowing that CTU would not identify the French cell phone number he was calling from.  
"We were just told the French have you in custody, what's going on?"  
"DuJour," Jack said, "He was in on everything that's happened in Paris in the past 10 hours, and possibly the Iraq bombing that resulted in Curtis Manning's death." Jack and Chloe got Jean and Rachelle's ID cards and got into the express elevator, going straight to the underground parking and walking out through a side floor and up a flight of stairs to street.

"Yeah, Jack mentioned that briefly before but he didn't want me to report it before he confirmed it," Chloe said sheepishly to the others at CTU.  
"Chloe, I need to find information that incriminates DuJour in helping these terrorists, before he notifies the media and announces that me and President Heller's daughter are under arrest on terrorism charges."  
"I got a location on DuJour's residence, its not far from there, also in the La Defence area, I'm sending you the address and the GPS directions right away."  
"Thanks, Chloe."

Upstairs, DuJour got back out of the elevator and walked down the corridor when his phone rang.  
"Maurice, this is Bill Buchanan. Just to give you an update, our teams are ready to move on Mohammed Abbas and Abu Jahah while another team is ready in Rouen to take Jahah's family into custody."  
He looked at Chloe. "Jahah has a second wife living in Rouen and we do have teams standing by. We can try to incriminate DuJour this way. Jahah's first wife is still our target. Our teams are ready to move in."

"Keep me updated," DuJour said simply. "Finally, something I do know has been posted on your bulletins, but unfortunately President Heller's daughter, Audrey Raines, and your agent Jack Bauer are being detained for questioning in involvement in the terrorist plot. You cannot trust them."  
"I wanted to speak to you about that too, Monseuir DuJour," Bill said. "There must be migitating evidence in favor of Bauer and Audrey. They do not fit the profile of terrorists."

DuJour laughed. "Oh, Mr. Buchanan, you wouldn't say some people by the names of Charles Logan or Christopher Henderson fit terrorist profiles?? And if your British friends are there, Stephen Saunders??"  
"President Heller will not let this go easily once Audrey's proven innocent, and Jack Bauer is as close to Heller as he was with President Palmer."  
"This will change once we get their confessions, but I must get back to work now, due no less to your own people's deception."  
He cut the line.

Jack and Chloe emerged outside and walked to the security shack.  
"Stop right there!" a guard called out in French. Jack removed a stun gun and shot him. Jack and Audrey then got into a security van with French official plates and markings and began driving down of the few avenues in Paris lined with modern buildings, though most were pitched black. They passed several soldiers in military vehicles but it was clear nobody was in control .

"Do you have the address for DuJour's apartment?" Chloe asked.  
"Yeah, I'm ten minutes out."

HOUSTON

"Jack and Audrey managed to escape CAT headquarters and are following a lead on DuJour," Chloe said.  
Heller and Novick breathed sighs of relief.  
"Let me know the MOMENT you hear anything from them," Heller said into his phone.  
Secretary of the Treasury Firestone walked up to Novick in the hotel suite. "I'd sorry for intruding, sir, but you should take a look at this," he said, turning on the large-screen plasma TV that came with this luxurious suite.

A Fox News Channel broadcast was going on with Suz Novick, Richard Heller, and Senator Yarnal standing together on the tarmac outside Terminal B at Hobby Airport with Sunbelt Airlines jets behind them. An electronic banner read: PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT'S CHILDREN GIVE SUPPORT TO YARNAL CAMPAIGN  
Heller exploded at this. "Now my SON, he is the REAL…." He stopped himself. It was clear that he was losing it. Mike Novick covered his head in his hands.

"I don't BELIEVE this crap!" Heller shouted. "Agent PIERECE!" he screamed as the veteran Secret Service man walked in. "How in HELL was my son allowed to leave Van Nuys, to fly all the way here from California, and to meet with that scum Yarnal on national TV without you trying to stop him. What are you agents in Los Angeles doing? Or what are YOU doing here??"  
"Sir, Richard is an American citizen with due rights to free travel and speech."  
"But couldn't you have at least TOLD ME he was heading to Hobby airport? And Mike," he stopped himself again. He knew his own son was a lot worse than his daughter.  
"Kylie, you really let me down," Mike said. He had to sniffle a few tears.

"Sir, I thought with the events in Europe you had enough on your mind." Pierce said.  
"Yes, these things ARE on my mind. We have a bunch of fanatical Islamic terrorists armed with God knows what, and we have something here than can completely cripple our nation economically. Thank God YOU never had to run a campaign."  
"Sir, I apologize," Pierce said. "Is there anything I can do to fix things."  
"Yes! Take care of my son so I don't have to deal with him while I'm dealing with a bunch of terrorists with some computer virus from the 25th century and probably some other WMDs. We almost had nerve gas released in the Paris Metro today. Wherever Richard goes, whatever he does, I want to know about it. Is that clear, Agent Pierce?"  
"Yes, sir," Pierce said and left.

DARKENED STREET, PARIS

"The CAT teams will be on us in less than 15 minutes according to Chloe's latest estimate," Jack said, speeding down the wide boulevard leading to the southwestern section of La Defence, passing several modern office blocks and sculptures and fountains.  
"The Tour Cassassone is six blocks to the south," Audrey said, "It's a sixth story high-rise with a stone façade across from a small park."  
Jack looked at his PDA and the GPS positioning system. "Ok, Chloe, I'll be there in ten minutes."

Split screens show Jack and Audrey in their car with the darkened Paris buildings flashing by behind them, Carolyn being washed up onto a sandy beach next to a seaside road, Suz Novick and Richard Heller talking to each other, and Chinese men in a conference room.

CHINESE CONSULATE, HOUSTON

"Richard, you told me Mr. Ingrams will be taken care of," Air China CEO Huang Jin said into his phone as he paced around the room with two Chinese flags, a symbol of the Chinese Communist Party, and traditional Chinese paintings and a scene of rural China.

"I had the best people working for me," Richard said from the modern terminal at Hobby Airport, ducking into a relatively secluded spot near a phone booth and some artificial indoor palms.  
"Ingrams is one of the most acclaimed lawyers in this country and the American media love him," Huang Jin said.

"I will tell my people to go after him again," Richard said, "We will make sure he…"  
"Do not do any such thing," Huang Jin said in a very frustrated tone. "You tried to make it look like an accident and he got away. If you try anything else, the Americans will suspect something is going on."  
Richard was silent.  
"Clean up your mess," Huang said before hanging up.  
Huang turned to the Chinese consul, Kwan Ming.  
"If the police and FBI begin investigating the car crash as something more than an accident, it may bring trouble to us," Kwan said. "We cannot let it be traced back to us. That will destroy everything that we have worked for."

Kwan suddenly swiped an incense bowl off the table and exploded in rage. "YOU were the one who accepted Richard Heller's deal. Did you know how sensitive this is? Our government has helped your company for so long to help us achieve our goals. If we try to enter the American market with any other company we should never succeed. You have no idea how politics work here in America."

Huang acted embarrassed and angry at the same time. "I will make sure things still turn out the way we planned, one way or another."  
Kwan walked through the door. "The Chinese people will never forgive you if things turn out any other way," he said before closing it and walking off.

HOUSTON

"Any contact from Richard Heller yet?" Vassily asked from the parking lot of a Wal-Mart Supercenter store in which their RV was parked.  
"Nyet," Ilya replied from his computer inside. Vassily was enjoying a smoke away, with the signs of Taco Bell, Wendys', and an Exxon gas station in the background.  
Vassily walked over to Misha. "You told me that you were sure Ingrams was in the car before you rammed it," he said angrily in Russian.

"I saw him in the mall, with the same Astros cap," he blabbered.  
Vassily struck him on the head hard and cursed in Russian. "Everyone in America wears a baseball cap. We did this operation with malfunctioning equipment and insecure intelligence."  
"It is no use anymore, Vassily," Ilya said. "Ingrams will start suspecting things…."  
"Until we hunt him down now and put a bullet in his brain," Grigory said.  
"That will no longer be possible," Vassily said.

CTU EUROPE AND PARIS

Shari looked up from her workstation, brushing her lovely red hair back. "DuJour has not informed Jahah's family members of Rouen nor Jahah and Mohammed Abbas's position," she said.  
"But we know for sure he is with the terrorists," Chloe said.  
Bill thought for a moment. "Perhaps this is to help keep him cover. He may know we're on to him. Let's hope that's not the case."  
Morris suggested, "Or he might have alterior motives. Remember how Logan helped the Chechnya terrorists nerve gas?"

"There's absolutely no way France can benefit, and the French will never deploy military forces to the Middle East to protect its interests. France gets most of its oil from the Northern Europe and West Africa, these terrorists are from the Middle East."  
"There must be something we're missing here," Chloe said.  
Jack's call came in.

"I'm at the bottom of DuJour's apartment building," he said, "Audrey and I are going in." He handed Audrey a stun gun. "Do you know how to use this?"  
"I guess," Audrey said. Audrey had never been too good with weapons, though Jack was impressed by her escape from the interrogation room just a half hour ago as well as her quick thinking in her encounters with the Marwan goons who kidnapped her and with Henderson.  
"Ok, Jack, you've got two security guards in the main lobby before you reach the elevator. Morris is going to program you new access codes for the elevator and for the security system into DuJour's apartment. He has no men guarding the place, he feels pretty secure, so I think we got lucky."

"Trouble," Ray said. "We have a French CAT team on the road and activity at the CAT building helipad, they're heading toward your location. ETA 10 minutes for both."  
"Dammit, we gotta move NOW!" Jack said to Audrey.  
Jack walked up a small set of marble stairs to the glass doors of the lobby. One security guard came over. "What do you need?" he asked.  
Jack smashed the window and tasered the man. The other guard got up from behind the security desk and took out his gun. Audrey fired several pellets with her stun gun and the man drew a second weapon, an automatic one, blasting away the windows. Jack slid across the floor and shot him with the stun gun, the man slumping over the counter unconscious. "All clear."  
Jack and Audrey went into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

Split screens show French CAT helicopter flying toward the apartment and a van filled with French agents pulling beside the street, Jack and Audrey getting out of the elevator, and a CTU scene with Shari and Morris. Jack breaks down the door to DuJour's apartment.

CORNWALL COUNTY, SOUTHWEST ENGLAND, UK

An ambulance pulls up by a deserted beach and several parademics rush out onto the sand, picking up an unconscious Carolyn and taking her onto a stretcher.  
"How ago did you find her?" a police officer asked a tourist from the beach.  
"Ten minutes ago."  
Another paramedic came over. "She should be fine. We're taking her to Exeter hospital."

KENT COUNTY, SOUTHEAST ENGLAND, UK

The private helicopter landed in the middle of a large field in the dark farm country with a smattering of lights from farmhouses and a nearby road.  
"We just landed in Britain," Yaffa Abbas said into his phone in Arabic.  
"Our people are on the way to take you to your safe house. Inshallah."  
"Inshallah."

Jack and Audrey are inside DuJour's large apartment overlooking the park and a modern plaza.  
"This guy isn't even prepared for people checking this place out," Audrey said.  
"Jack," Chloe said, "You have CAT agents approaching you."  
"I think I got something!" Audrey said.

"We should use CTU's authority to take over the French investigation," Shari said.  
"We're going through the channels but its going to take some time. DuJour probably ordered his agents to shoot to kill," Bill said.  
Morris turned to Chloe. "You need to simulate an order from DuJour…."

Audrey was in DuJour's study, and his desk was filled with radical literature from Northern Irish fringe groups, including manifestos and DVDs of Frankie McCourt.  
"Jack, these are recordings from Frankie McCourt, a well-known terrorist from Northern Ireland," he said. "We need to get into DuJour's computer hard drives."

"Audrey, I need you to work with Chloe," Jack said. "I need to hold back these agents as quickly as I can. CHLOE, how long will it take for you to get the order to the French teams on the ground here to stand down?"

Monique Deverux got out of the car with DuJour.  
Chloe told Jack, "Two more minutes!"  
……5AM


	14. Episode 13

EPISODE 13

EPISODE 13

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 5AM AND 6 AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME (10PM TO 11PM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

LONDON FLAT (APARTMENT)  
"By how much has the timetable been moved up?" a terrorist asked on the phone.  
Frankie McCourt paced around a room filled with maps of London and other British cities, plus diagrams of airports, train stations, and other public areas.  
"We will have to move the timeline up by two days. Once we come in position of the ultimate weapon, which is already on British soil, we will make a demand for noon tomorrow."  
"The drugs that will protect us from its effects are ready?" the other Irishman asked.  
"Most certainly," replied McCourt.

PARIS AND CTU

Several French agents burst through the door. Jack fired some darts but ran out. "I'm coming out!" he yelled. "C'mon Chloe," he said.  
Monique's radio suddenly crackled as she drew up weapon and walked toward Jack.  
"Agent Deverux?" an American voice said.  
"Who is this?"  
"This is Bill Buchanan, provisional regional director, CTU Europe. You have orders to cease your assault on Jack Bauer and Audrey Raines."  
Chloe and Morris had finally established comms via a satellite and a Russian server.  
Monique cursed. "Mr. Buchanan, these two are responsible for the deaths of over a thousand French civilians today."

"DuJour is responsible!" Buchanan said .  
"Agent Deverux!" Jack called out, having her follow him into the study. "This is literature belonging to DuJour, these are electronic pamplets from the Celtic Cross terrorist faction out of Belfast, Northern Ireland."  
"There's more!" Audrey said, flipping open a cabinet. It was filled with papers and books in Gaelic, the traditional language of Ireland, and several CD-ROMs."  
Audrey placed a random CD-ROM into the computer and it showed a hidden camera shot.

"Oh my God," Monique breathed.  
The video showed Camcorder footage of a school and a rocket flying into it.  
"The O'Hara Academy strike," she said. "Northern Ireland, three years ago, twenty five students dead when Celtic Cross, in association with other Irish Catholic separatist groups, pulled off this attack." The next frame showed DuJour himself meeting with terrorist leaders in what appeared to be an Irish pub.  
"My God, that's all the proof I need," Monique said in a very embarrassed tone.  
Jack nodded. "CTU is going to place DuJour under arrest and take command of CAT."  
"Wait, Jack," Chloe said, "Communications are cut with CAT!"

CAT BUIDLING and KHABHAROVSK, RUSSIA, ON THE CHINESE BORDER  
Several terrorists, led by Mohammed Abbas, have cut the emergency transmission from the building and several vans filled with masked terrorists shouting in Arabic pulled up.  
Inside CAT, Jean and Rachelle were pulling themselves up from the ground, Rachelle holding the bump on her head and groaning.  
"What's going on?" Theo Stoller asked as she and Jean and the other beaten up agents came back into the control room.  
"They escaped," Jean said simply.

"Get yourselves into the clinic, get yourselves checked out."  
"We're fine," Rachelle said.  
"Just go to the clinic, its protocol," Stoller said. Stoller then picked up his phone and dialed a secure number.

Cheng Zhi's phone rang from his command post set on a Russian hilltop overlooking the Amur River, and China beyond it. It had been a long day for him.  
"So are our teams in Los Angeles in place?" Cheng Zhi asked.  
"Mr. Cheng," a German-accented voice said.  
"Who is this?" Cheng asked in English.  
"My name is Theo Stoller, German intelligence. I have information regarding Jack Bauer."  
"Really?" Cheng asked, his eyes widening. "What are you asking for in return?"  
"Revenge, like you," Stoller said. "As you are aware, two of the passenger jets shot down by the Muslim terrorists in Paris today were Lufthansa planes. Hundreds of innocent German civilians were killed."

"Yes, a great tragedy. China has offered our condolences, and I do so personally. Bauer was linked to this?"  
"Yes. On the day you captured him in California, he destroyed my investigation in his quest to uncover the Bierko plot. If he had not done so, the terrorists responsible for tonight's attacks in France and Iraq would not be operating right now."  
"Typical of Bauer and America, their own problems always come first. What can you tell me about him?"  
"He is in Paris."

"Are you sure of this?"  
"I have seen him personally," Stoller said. "Unfortuantely, I must go now, we have something come up."  
He hung up the phone as he saw the group of men coming. "Who are you?" he demanded, as did several French agents.  
Mohammed Abbas blasted through the door and killed three security guards with his machine gun, then moved down three analysts. Then the other Arab terrorists fired their guns into the air.  
"We are taking control of this building!" he said.

HOUSTON

"This just in, sir. Arab terrorists are in control of French CAT headquarters. This team is led by Mohammed Abbas himself."  
"Have we had any communications yet?"  
"Coming up," McDaniels said to Heller.

CAT

Rachelle and Jean froze as they heard the gunfire. They peeked through a door and saw the gunmen rounding up the hostages. Abbas was giving orders to go to CAT medical and other sections of the building. The two immediately ran up a stairwell and into a restroom, trying to make it up to the ventilation system.

"They're not responding," Monique said. "We have DuJour in custody. The French Army will be picking him up and sending him to another their base in western France."

EXETER, ENGLAND

"Where am I?" Carolyn asked as the gurney was rolled into the emergency room.  
"She should be fine, just shaken up and some hypothermia from the water," she heard a British accented doctor say.  
"Where am I? I need to speak with the police immediately."  
"Your in a hospital in Exeter."  
"Exeter…England?"  
"Yes, you washed off on the beach not far from here" the doctor replied.  
"I was drugged and taken on a boat from Ireland by terrorists. I have critical information for MI6."  
The doctor was shocked and immediately took out his phone.

CTU, HOUSTON, AND PARIS

The videoconference screen showed Mohammed Abbas holding an automatic rifle. The video showed the bodies of over seven dead French agents sprawled out on the bloody floor.  
"I will reiterate my demands. I will execute one hostage every five minutes until the British forces in France cease combat operations against our heroic brothers in the streets."

"Jim," Mike said to Heller, "The Royal Marines dispatched in Paris are only now taking control of the situation in Chichy-du-Bois and the other slum districts in suburban regions. The mobs are descending into the city center."  
Mike pointed to a computerized map of downtown Paris. "Right now, we have British forces deployed at these major chokepoints into the heart of Paris and Parisian civilians are barricaded in their homes and offices beyond here downtown," he pointed to several blue dots. "If these troops abandon their posts, the rioters will cross what we are calling the Critical Line, after which they will be impossible to put down without a massive loss of life."  
"These mobs are the same mobs that rioted last time? How can it come to this?"

"Sir, it's not just a mob. They ARE willing to die and they are armed with heavy weapons. The Paris police have abandoned many stations and deserted and these people are armed with M-16 assault rifles, MP5s, Uzi submachine runs, rockets, grenades, you name it. They're not hesitating to slaughter anyone in their way, even women and children." Secretary of Defense Williams said.  
"What's CTU's assessment?" Heller asked.  
"Sir," Williams continued, "Once they reach central Paris we're looking at savage, no holds barred urban combat that rivals anything we've seen in Fallujah or Ramadi and irreparable damage to Paris's most important historic treasures. We believe they will be attacking the Louvre museum and destroying its collection which they deem to be anti-Islamic. They will hit highly populated areas, hotels, anything."  
"We have forty minutes before these people reach the Critical Line if the British forces stand down," Novick said.

At CTU, Morris goes over to Shari's workstation, where she was trembling in fear over the events that had taken place.  
"It's going to be fine," Morris said, massaging her shoulders. Shari put her hand on his and he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, which she returned. Several yards away, Chloe stopped in her tracks as she saw this.  
"Chloe," Bill called out. She paused.

"You okay?"  
Chloe took one more glance at Morris, who was now fondling Shari's red hair.  
"Yeah, what do you need?"  
"I want you and Ray to run up rescue scenarios for CAT headquarters for Jack.

CAT  
"We need to split up," Jean said to Rachelle. "I'm going toward the elevator shaft so I can try to get into position on the far side of the control room. If you go into the main boiler area you can get into the shaft that leads directly above the director's office."  
She nodded, making sure her gun had a full clip plus some extra ammo on her.

PARIS

"Audrey, you're safe here with Agent Deverux," Jack said as they approached the command vehicle parked below the high-rise building.  
"Here are the schematics for the floors housing CAT," Deverux said.  
Suddenly, Jack's phone rang.  
"Yeah, Chloe?"  
"We have a French agent on the phone, Rachelle Le-Mans, says she's calling from within CAT."

"Put her through to me."  
Jack reluctantly let go of Audrey's hand and switched his phone to his other hand. "Agent Le-Mans, this is Jack Bauer."  
"It's okay," Monique said quickly into the phone before Rachelle could respond to this shocking news. "We have found evidence at DuJour's apartment linking him to a terrorist group with suspected connections with the Abbas brothers."

"I…I don't know what to make of this…."  
"Rachelle," Jack said, "We have to focus on the situation at hand. Give us your position and what you see from there."  
"I'm…." her voice was trembling, "I'm in the AC filters on top of DuJour's office. I can see five terrorists in the main control room. The hostages are being held in two different groups….wait, they're separating one man from the rest. It's Theo Stoller."

MI6 HEADQUARTERS, LONDON

Jane Saunders drove into the parking garage of the modern MI6 building on the banks of the Thames River in the center of London.  
"What's in that package?" the guard asked as she showed him her ID.  
She flashed him a smile and said, "Classified, you should know that."

She then went into the security operations center, located in a subbasement three stories below ground level inside a bomb shelter. After all, London was devastated by Nazi air raids during World War II and with dozens of Soviet missiles pointed at the city, when MI6 was rebuilt every possible security measure was in place. This dangerous new world of international terrorism only reinforced the keenness of vision of those who designed this place.

"This is from Clyde Benson," she said to an analyst named Jerry Quayle.  
"Oh, the American?" he asked, confused since he had not worked too hard on the case.  
"Yeah. He's in hiding but we may need his assistance."  
"Where is he?"

"He's being debriefed right now upstairs in the director's office. Anyway, I know how busy we are with the Olympics and the French crisis, but when you have time, take a look at this, okay? He says it has to do with Irish fringe groups opposed to the peace agreement."  
"I can promise I'll try, Jane, but resources are diverted to France right now…"  
The intercom beeped and MI6 director Walter Brooks spoke via videoconference from upstairs.  
"The latest developments are that our forces are standing down in Paris, but we need to continue providing real time intel."  
"Standing down??" Quayle asked in shock.

PARIS  
"Rachelle, any changes in the hostiles' movement patterns?" asked Jack.  
"Not as of now. But I saw three terrorists head upstairs," she replied.  
From the other end of the building, Jean saw the terrorists establish a patrolling pattern along the outside perimeter by the windows and told Jack.

"Jack," Audrey said from the command post, "Chloe confirmed three terrorists on the rooftop."

CAT HEADQUARTERES  
"Is the lockdown of the building complete?" Mohammed Abbas asked.  
"Yes," replied Abu Jahah.  
A terrorist turned away from the computer displays and said in Arabic, "We have a problem, emir. We have two British units still engaging our Muslim brothers."  
Abbas nodded and grabbed Stoller, putting him in front of the video camera, then turned to his men and said, "Open up the videoconference with London and Houston."

HOUSTON

"We have a new feed from CAT headquarters in Paris," Chief of Staff Peter Ricardo-Sanchez said as he walked into the suite, interrupting Mike and Heller's conversation about Suz Novick.  
"We have made clear our demands for the crusading soldiers to cease their attacks upon our righteous brothers of the Islamic nation, a people oppressed by the imperialism and decadence of the West. Our enemies have not yet done so. Now, we will demonstrate the consequences," Mohammed said, brandishing a traditional Arab sword.  
"In the name of Allah and the hOly Koran, we slaughter this infidel as a sign of our faith and our devotion to the cause of holy war," he continued, then grabbed Stoller by his hair and swung his blade."  
"Jesus Christ," Mike Novick breathed.

MI6  
"There was a breakdown in communications with some of our units on the ground," an MI6 agent said to director Brooks.  
"This is unacceptable, people. A man was just beheaded because of this. We need to call Downing Street and make sure ALL the troops on the ground know to hold their fire until CTU has regained control of the area."

A split screen shows Jack and Audrey at the command vehicle with the CAT agents previously sent to arrest them, Suz Novick in Houston, Richard Heller acting nervous, and Chase Edmunds, Kim, and Angela on the private jet.

CIA JET, OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

"Chase," a CIA agent came as he walked into the large comfortable cabin Chase was sharing with Angela and Kim.  
"Yeah?" he asked groggily. He had been sleeping for the past three hours since boarding the jet and hadn't even remembered the takeoff. Outside he could see the surreal puffy white clouds over the pitch black of the Atlantic Ocean, broken only by what appeared to be a commercial airliner far away to their south and a couple supertankers and fishing trawlers on the sea below.  
"Sorry to wake you up, won't disturb you again before we land unless it's important. But the Secret Service has prepared some info for you on your mission. It's classified so even I don't know anything about it."  
"Okay, thanks," Chase said and went back to asleep.

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL SUITE, HOUSTON

"Mr. Vice President, if I may," Peter said as he poured himself and Mike some scotch as they reclined into some soft couches by the large window overlooking the cityscape.  
"What is it, Pete?" Mike said tiredly.  
"I know you were very hurt by your daughter's actions tonight, and I don't mean to justify them in any other way, but…she lost her best friend, a coworker named Sheila Cohen in an accident, a hit and run. Sheila's brother was also killed. Their car was hit by a cement truck near Sugar Lakes and went into the swamps. The coroners at Baylor medical center are trying to find if they died on impact or if they drowned."

"What?" Mike said, nearly getting up from his chair. The anger and hurt he had felt regarding Suz turned into confusion now, as well as grief at the news he had just heard. Sheila was like another daughter to him. Mike had watched her grow up together with his own daughter, been to their high school soccer games and swim meets, never missed either girl's birthday party.

"What's more, sir, is that that the local police and FBI are investigating it as a homicide. Mr. Vice President, Carl Ingrams, Sunbelt Airlines' primary attorney in the takeover case, was supposed to be riding in their car. The cement truck that hit Sheila's car was stolen from a supermarket construction site near Houston overnight. Your daughter knows all of this, and it would be understandable if she were to place the blame on you because of this administration's hesitation to confront China on the airline issue. Some even believe the government is somehow involved in the attempted hit on Ingrams. After Charles Logan, all bets are off in the eyes of the public, and frankly, I can't say I blame them."

"Have you alerted Secret Service and CTU Houston about this?"  
Pete said in a serious tone, "Agent Pierce and a select number of agents know, as well as a reserve CTU agent from Los Angeles by the name of Chase Edmunds, formerly Jack Bauer's partner. I'm keeping people out of the loop because I don't think we can trust anyone right now."  
Mike nodded. "Unless there's a miracle, this crisis will be as bad for this country as the terror attacks in Paris." He added to himself that even with a miracle, he and Kylie may never be able to face each other again.

PARIS

"Okay," Jack radioed to his team as they went into the top floor of an adjacent skyscraper next to the building housing CAT headquarters, "Agent Le-Man's intelligence has checked out, and we all have the patrol patterns down. This will give us a two minute interval to reach the lower ledge of the roof."  
"The rooftop hostiles are maintaining position," Chloe said from CTU Europe, looking at the satellite feed of the scene.

Jack was the first to rappel on a line across a wide boulevard and open plaza, reaching the ledge, then the five French assault team members followed.  
"We're on the lower ledge, approaching rooftop level," Jack radioed.  
"Copy, standing by," Bill said from the control room floor, where the CTU staff were observing footage and satellite imagery from Paris.  
"Jack," Bill continued, "You have ten minutes before the mobs reach the Critical Line."  
"Understood," Jack replied.

"Chloe, I've identified the three terrorists on the roof and are able to duplicate their voices," Morris said.  
Chloe forced herself to look at him after what she had witnessed his obvious advances on Shari Rothenberg, and nodded. "Good, I'll let Jack know."

Jack and several French agents popped up onto the rooftop from the ledge and fired several silenced gunshots, the terrorists falling dead. The sky in the east was now turning from black to a dark blue though the sun was not up yet.

Rachelle's phone began vibrating and she saw that it was Audrey.  
"The teams are on the roof now and they are taking out the guards. CTU has technology that will allow Jack to impersonate them with voice duplications, it's something your agency has not been accustomed to." Audrey didn't tell her that the man who invented this technology was a hacker who first used it to help Peter Kingsley fool the U.S. government into going to war in the Middle East.

"I need you and Jean to maintain your position and to provide cover fire for the assault team entering through the main doors. The terrorists will try to immediately execute the hostages. Keep in mind that we want Mohammed Abbas and Abu Jahah alive."  
"We'll try our best," Rachelle replied.

"Thanks, just keep us updated."  
"Audrey," she then said, her voice nearly breaking, "I'm sorry, Ms. Raines…"  
"It's okay, you can call me Audrey. What's the matter?"  
In the background, an agent called out in the command vehicle. "CTU is beginning the voice makeovers."

Rachelle told her, "I live in central Paris and have a three year old son with my sister right now. My husband's serving in Afghanistan. I've never been called here at night and if something happens to my son with the rioters, I'll never get to say bye."  
"I understand that feeling," Audrey said, "But we just need to get through the next five minutes. Are you with us on this?"  
"Yeah."

CTU transformed Jack's voice into one of the terrorist's and translated it into Arabic.  
"Emir Abba, I just received a call from your brother. He couldn't reach you and he has important information regarding the next step in our plan. I need to come down. It is urgent."  
In the control room, Mohammed was suspicious. "We have entrusted the next phase of our plan to McCourt and his people," he replied in Arabic.

At CTU, several analysts looked up. So the jihadists were working with Frankie McCourt after all.

"He has one additional operation for us in Paris and he has the commands downloaded onto my PDA," Jack said, his voice once again being translated into Arabic.  
"Ok," come down.

They got into the elevator and reached the main floor of CAT headquarters, which opened up into a long hallway.  
An Arab terrorist came around a corner and his eyed widened in shock. Jack threw a knife into his throat and continued down the hall. Jack and a French agent each fired silenced pistol shots into two more terrorists.  
"Ohad, what is taking so long?" Mohammed asked.  
"I'm coming," Jack replied.

The assault team detonated a flashbang grenade at the entrance to the control room and stunned the terrorists and hostages alike for a moment. Then Rachelle and Jean opened fire with pistols, killing two terrorists. Jack and the assault team burst in. Mohammed grabbed a male hostage and opened fire, killing two of the French commandos while another French agent fired a shot into Mohammed's head, which exploded onto the walls and computers behind him. Jean shot Abu Jahah in the shoulder and Jahah raised a gun to his head.  
"No, you don't," Jack breathed, shooting him in the hand. "Secure him!" Jack shouted, rushing over toward the Iraqi computer scientist.

….6AM


	15. Episode 14

EPISODE 14

EPISODE 14

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 6AM WESTERN EUROPEAN TIME AND 6 AM BRITISH TIME (11PM TO 12AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

DUBLIN, IRELAND

Irish federal police have surrounded the university lab building with flashing lights and hazmat teams everywhere. An unmarked car with diplomatic plates was waved through the police checkpoints along a historic cobblestone street then came to a stop.  
"Dominic diRiagli, Interpol," one of them said in an Italian accent.  
The Irish agent looked at his ID, paused and asked, "Division what? Never heard of…"  
"Top secret," diRiagli said.  
The Irish cop nodded and waved the European Union team through. DiRiagli took out his PDA and pointed to a location as his men stood in a circle with grim expressions on their faces.

CAT HEADQUARTERS, PARIS

Gunshots came from a corner as an Islamic terrorist fired several shots at the French TAC team. Jack raised his automatic weapon and blasted the man with several rounds, the terrorists falling over a computer terminal and knocking a chair and desk over with blood seeping through his shirt as he died.  
"That's all of them!" a French agent shouted as he reached the far side of the operations center.  
"Take photos of all of them, send them to CTU for identification, and do what you can with the resources still available here," Jack shouted as he ran toward the wounded Abu Jahah. A medic bandaged Jahah's hand as Jack grabbed him.

"I don't care where you take me," Jahah said, spitting at Jack but missing, not showing any sign of pain despite his wounds. "Or what you do to me. I will tell you nothing."  
Jack punched the Iraqi in the chest and grabbed his hair. "We'll see about that."  
Suddenly, Jack's phone rang as Chloe called him from CTU Europe and Jack walked away.

CTU

A split screen showed the investigators inside the Dublin lab building, Jack's father being debriefed in MI6, Jack, and CTU.  
"Jack, you're in teleconference with CTU.We've confirmed our suspicions that the London Olympics will be targeted sometime in the next 12 hours. The British have suspended events today but we believe the London area remains a primary target for the terrorists," Chloe said.

Bill continued the update. "Earlier tonight, weaponized anthrax was stolen from a university bioterrorism research lab in Ireland and a survivor, a college student who worked in the building, has identified one Jake Francis, a terrorist on our WET list, a member of the Celtic Cross, an Irish Catholic fringe group that rejects the peace accords with Britain. Jake is the nephew of Frankie McCourt, the leader of Celtic Cross. We believe Celtic Cross has collaborated with the Mesopotamia Jihad Brigade to acquire these weapons."

"My God," Jack said as he used a computer to pull up a file on Jake Francis. As Jack scrolled down, he saw pictures of this terrorist in a prison mug shot, then another picture with him masked and shooting a man in cold blood captured by a traffic camera, and him at a terrorist rally setting fire to the British flag. At CTU, the screen showed Frankie McCourt in a propaganda video where he is savagely beating a kidnapped British police officer before cruxifying him on a lamppost in a hostile Belfast neighborhood.  
"Bill, if we're to get any leads there's something you must do. You're not going to like it, but we will have to bring Abu Jahah's first wife and family to London. Place them in harm's way if the terrorists strike the city. It's the only hope we have. Jahah is willing to suffer and die for his cause and he has served time in Iraqi prisons. He's a zealot who believes that Allah will reward him in paradise."

"Jack, you're asking me to violate every protocol CTU, the Geneva Convention, the European Union have."  
"Bill, we don't have a choice right now. Its going to be daylight in England in less than three hours and let me remind you, if Jahah has given Celtic Cross the Carsolia virus, the terrorists will try to release it into the British government networks before their intended attack to hinder the governmental response. I believe Jahah can tell us information about his contact in Britain, who he transferred the virus to."  
"Jack's right," Ray called out at CTU, "Besides, nobody has to know about this. We'll put them on a flight here."  
Bill paused for several long seconds, and finally said, "Do it quietly."

CAT.

Monique Deverux walked over to Jack in the wrecked CAT operations center. "The British forces are engaging the hostiles again and were able to hold the Critical Line."  
Jack nodded and replied, "Good. I need you to prepare a helicopter to take Audrey and I to Le Bourget airfield. And thanks a lot for your help tonight."  
Monique nodded as Rachelle came down from the roof, walking over to Audrey and Jack.  
Audrey gave her an exhausted smile and remarked, "I guess we're both lucky you didn't' believe us at first."  
Audrey could imagine Rachelle thinking about how if she didn't have to go to the clinic thanks to her escape attempt, Rachelle would have been taken hostage as well and this operation might not have been successful.  
"When I told you I didn't want to have to use the drugs on you, I meant it," Rachelle finally said, "You know, I do happen to be an admirer of your father. He's a great president."

"I really appreciate that," Audrey replied with a tired smile. She took out one of her father's presidential pins that she always kept with her and handed to the agent. "This is something you can give your son when he gets older. "  
"Thanks so much, Audrey," she replied.  
"I'm sorry about having to escape from this place like that," Audrey said, feeling a bit guilty about giving the other young woman a few bumps and minor bruises.  
"Don't worry about it. Really. I'm okay."  
Rachelle was pulling something up at a workstation. "This just came in from CTU," she said, "Maurice DuJour's history. Funny how we never really looked into it."  
Audrey and Jack read the file. DuJour was born in France to Irish parents and had frequently visited Northern Ireland throughout his life.  
"We need to get all of this to CTU," Audrey said to Rachelle, who nodded and went straight to work.

DOVER, ENGLAND

The blue van pulled off of the motorway and into the bright lights of a rest area and gas station. The area was already busy with several motorcoaches, trucks, and ordinary vehicles already stopped, since there was also a few hotels and motels in the vicinity. Gladys took by a small car and opened up his trunk, revealing a black suitcase. A tall blonde man with short curly hair and carrying an identical suitcase got out of a Rolls Royce parked on the opposite side of the gas station and both of them went into the public restroom of the rest area past locals and tourists picking up coffee. Then a split screen followed both men as they went into the men's room, choosing adjacent stalls. The men quietly exchanged suitcases and exited the restroom. Gladys got back into his car after starting the gas pumps, then said into his cell phone, "Exchange complete."

LONDON and KHABAROVSK, RUSSIA-CHINA BORDER

Cheng Zhi swore softly in Chinese as new watched the news broadcast, where the camera pans away the moment before Mohammed's sword blade strikes Theo Stoller's neck. Cheng's phone rang.  
A split screen showed several Chinese men in a dark room filled with weapons and their leader talking into a cell phone.  
"Yes, Wu?" Cheng asked.  
"Comrade Cheng, we must use alternative measures in our hunt for Jack Bauer now that our German friend has just been killed in front of the entire world," the Chinese man said simply.  
"So are you telling me you have a lead?" Cheng asked in amazement as he paced around the guest quarters in the Russian military base.  
"Not yet, but we do have something useful. Our sources inside MI6 know that Jack Bauer's father, a man known as Clyde Benson, has come out of hiding after faking his death."

"Like father, like son," Cheng said with an amused and wicked chuckle.  
The Chinese man continued, "The British have brought Clyde back to MI6 to help because they believe they may be targeted today by the same terrorists who attacked France. We believe it will only be a matter of time before Clyde will make contact with his son."  
"This is excellent," Cheng replied, trying to remain calm.  
The man in London opened a locker revealing even more weapons. "Should we kill him quietly, or should we speak to him, and let Bauer know the reason we are killing him?" he asked sadistically.  
"No," Cheng replied, "He is more useful to us alive."  
"Comrade Cheng, with all due respect, Bauer murdered several of our brave soldiers during his escape from China," the man pointed out.  
"I am aware of this, Wu" Cheng replied impatiently, "You do your part, and I will do mine. This is all you need to know."  
"Yes, comrade," Wu replied, then barked some orders to his men in Chinese.

HOBBY AIRPORT, HOUSTON

Suz Novick saw Richard Heller approach from far off in the concourse, also glancing back and forth at the news coverage from the French crisis. A couple networks were focusing on the business deal again. She was now in her Sunbelt Airlines uniform, which actually consisted of a casual T-shirt, khaki pants, and a pair of sneakers. After all, this was a low-cost airline, not Delta or United. Usually it would be comfortably quiet at this hour, especially in a smaller airport like Hobby, but tonight the international press had descended here for the China deal and the fast food eateries lining the Sunbelt Airlines concourse were doing brisk business in their extended hours. Her Motorola cell phone rang and she checked the caller ID, seeing it was her father. Her finger kept on moving toward the power button on her phone, but she simply silenced it and put it on vibrate.  
"I'm so sorry about Sheila," Richard said kindly, sitting down next to Suz.  
Suz wiped away some tears from her eyes, looking beautiful even in this condition. "I know."

"You were right earlier," Richard said softly, "At first I became involved in this to get back at my dad, for everything he's done to me, for everything he stands for. I'm embarrassed to be his son, and this country's gonna go down the drain if he gets reelected. Like I said, Palmer and Keeler are candy thieves compared to my dad. But…now I really believe in this, Suz, working with you and your friends here."  
"I really appreciate that, Richard," Suz said through a couple sniffles. "At least Yarnal supports us. We did the right thing tonight. Besides, deep down I really believe he's the right man for the White House."

"I don't," Richard replied, "He's a centrist, even by Democratic standards, and …"  
"Let's not get into that again, ok?" Suz said in an exhausted manner.  
"I know it sounds crazy, I know I seem crazy at times," Richard said to her, "But for the sake of your company, for your sake, for the country's sake, you need to look at your father and his actions today objectively."

"So I haven't been doing that?"  
"Let it sink in, Suz. Carl Ingrams was supposed to be in that car, and the cops are treating it as a homicide. It's too big of a coinincidence if you ask me. Your dad and mine are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure this deal goes through."  
"Stop it!" Suz said a little too loudly.  
"Just think it over, okay?" Richard replied. "In the meantime, try to get some rest, and I'll go see what Yarnal is up to over on the tarmac."  
When he was far enough away, Richard dialed Vassily's number, and there was no response. Richard cursed and kept walking.

KHABAROVSK, RUSSIA-CHINA BORDER

Cheng Zhi shoved the door open and emerged into the damp, gray courtyard of the Russian installation through a yard filled with rusting vehicles and barracks, swatting at the Siberian mosquitos the whole way until he reached the Russian commander's quarters.  
"Commander Cheng," the Russian said in a matter-of-fact manner, barely glancing up at the Russian newspaper's sports page about the Russian team in London.  
"My people tell me that Jack Bauer has been seen in France."  
"Really?" the Russian said in English.  
"Let us not play games, commander," Cheng said, looking him hard in the eye. "I am surprised your people have not learned about Jack's ploy to cross Russia over land while purchasing those Aeroflot tickets to Los Angeles."  
"Commander Cheng, are you attempting to critique me and my country on our ability to enforce laws?" the Russian said.

"Oh, much more than that, General Byolov," Cheng replied tersely, "If I find you have not been completely forthcoming about Bauer, it will be a grave crime against China. Mark my words very carefully, General Byolov."  
Cheng Zhi turned around and said in Chinese to some of his men, "Let's go." Inside the command post, General Byolov picked up the old phone on his wall and spoke in Russian.

LE BOURGET AIRFIELD, PARIS

The French team brought a handcuffed Abu Jahah up the stairs onto CTU's converted 737 jet as Jack and Audrey got out of the car. Jack had already used electric shock on Jahah but the man has shown no reaction whatsoever.  
"He's as bad as Christopher Henderson, this is going nowhere," Jack said to Audrey as the vehicle pulled up next to the plane and they got out. Jack actually looked sadly at the woman he loved. "Audrey, remember three years ago during Marwan's missile plot, you saw some things from me that…" he couldn't finish.  
"Jack, I….I know, but I understand you don't have any other choice."

Jack held her close and kissed her. "Please just stay in the forward cabin once we get airborne. Do it for me, please, Audrey. I don't want to break your heart again."  
She nodded and then the tears came. "I…I just don't know why it all has to come to this. Why do these people have to force our hand like that? I see things on Fox every day about what's happening in Gitmo, and Iraq, and Afghanistan. We're losing what makes America special in the world, and its ALL their goddamn fault."  
"It's ok, Audrey," Jack said, stroking her hair. "I know things get tough sometimes, but we WILL win this war."

Jack and several agents went into the center cabin and the plane taxied down the runway.  
"Like I told you, I am not afraid of you, infidel," Jahah said. "The suffering of losing my brother when your cruise missiles struck Kirkuk, or watching the death squads, working for the government installed by America, shoot my best friends in front of my eyes….compared to this, anything you can do to me is nothing."  
"You're right, Abu," Jack replied coldly, "I can see that."  
A split screen shows the hazmat team in Dublin, President Heller talking on the phone, Senator Yarnal in his headquarters on his private plane parked at Hobby airport, and the Rolls Royce driven by a terrorist park in front of a home in England. Jack's phone rang and he stepped into the forward cabin with Audrey.

CTU and AIRBORNE OVER NORTHERN FRANCE

"Yeah, Bill?" Jack asked.  
"We have some very serious developments."  
Jack's stomach lurched. What can be worse than the weaponized anthrax?  
"In addition to the anthrax, we have just discovered that a neutron bomb was stolen from a top-secret European Union research facility located inside the Dublin campus."  
"WHAT?"

"Interpol and the European and Irish authorities are still looking into it, but the point was to hide the facility in plain sight. There wasn't much extra security and the scientist in charge of the project also happened to be a physics professor there at the campus. Only the heads of state in Europe and the top counterterrorism officials knew about it."  
"Like Maurice DuJour?"  
"There's a high possibility that is true, we are still trying to get more info from the Brits. Is Jahah talking?"  
"Not yet, but I'm working on it."  
"Jack, there's one more thing, and its difficult for me to…"  
"Just say it, Bill."

"Your father is alive and he has been brought back by MI6 to assist in the investigation. He's worked undercover in Northern Ireland for years before being assigned to the Middle East and he's known McCourt since before the formation of Celtic Cross, when McCourt was a bombmaker for the IRA."  
Jack didn't know what to say for a long time. "I….God…..where is he now?"  
"MI6 headquarters. We will be setting up a meeting once you land in London."  
"I…I can't really blame him, not after I put Kim and Audrey through the same thing."  
"And me too, Jack, and all of us at CTU."  
"Thanks, Bill. I'll see you when I get there. I have to handle Jahah now."

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL SUITE, HOUSTON

"We need to remember that this Sunbelt deal is only the beginning," Senator Yarnal said to the assembled crowd of airport workers and journalists on the runway at Hobby while other protestors watched from the edge of the runway, "The precedence that this sets will be devastating for our country."  
"Turn that off, please," Mike said, not wanting to see his daughter standing next to Yarnal again, but Pete kept it on.

"….which industry is next? For years, Heller's precedessors, John Keeler, David Palmer, George W. Bush, even Charles Logan have defended our nation's most vital economic interests from foreign…."  
"I'm going to be honest with you," Pete said to Heller and Mike. "I believe that Yarnal does have a point, and its one we have to address.  
"I don't' believe they're still focusing so much on this with all that's happening in Europe," Press Secretary Johnston said.

"We all know Yarnal's connections in the media world, and he's buying them off by promising even less oversight with TV programming and entertainment," Pete said, "But the amount of news coverage is beside the point."  
"What are you talking about?" Heller said. It had been a long day, and he didn't act pleased that his chief of staff was second-guessing him as well.  
"Sir, with all due respect, if we set up this precedent by allowing the Sunbelt takeover, it will be hard for us to reject future deals, and we can be sure that China will go to international courts if we ever want to stop future deals."  
"We've been through that, Pete, what do you want me to do?"  
"While saying no to China now will hurt our credibility in the world, allowing this deal to take place will be disasterous for national security."

"I don't want to hear this. Do you understand the amount of pressure I'm…."  
"Sir," Pete pressed on, "The next set of companies China, and India, and DUBAI, have eyes on are biotech firms, IT businesses, even defense contractors. Mr. President, I understand the decision is yours, but if this deal goes through it will be hard to fight the Chinese in international courts to prevent these other takeovers, and once that happens, every single technological, industrial, and military edge America has may be gone in the next 10 years."  
Heller was silenced by this. "That's enough, Pete. We will discuss this later."  
Pete did not seem pleased but nodded. "Yes, Mr. President."

CHINESE-RUSSIAN BORDER

A Russian soldier loaded something into a sniper-rifle like device and climbed up a set of stairs to an observation area overlooking the main yard, seeing Cheng Zhi and the other Chinese agents and troops gather into their jeeps, preparing for their return to China, visible across the muddy river. Other Russian troops used binoculars to scan for any Chinese lookouts with Cheng's contigent.  
"All clear, I have a clean shot," the "sniper" said in Russian.  
"Good," Byokov replied. "Launch the device."

The Russian pulled the trigger and a very small object flew through the air, then landing on the back of Cheng Zhi's uniform. It was an invisible chip whose surfaces were programmed to completely resemble the surroundings and there was no way Cheng could know it was there.  
"Transmissions beginning," an analyst said in Russian as they began listening in on a Chinese conversation. "Get our Chinese translator here."

A split screen shows Pete going back into the suite and telling Novick and Heller about the neutron bomb, then to the 737 flying in midair.

CTU 737, OVER NORTHERN FRANCE

There was little turbulence as the Boeing 737 jet flew over darkened farmland and dots of lights resembling areas not affected by the blackout.  
Jack walked back into the cabin and sat down in front of Jahah, showing him a hammer he got from a tool chest on the plane.

"Abu, I'm going to tell you something you probably know," Jack said, "CTU has received word that a neutron bomb was stolen today and that the target is London. We know you are working with the Celtic Cross terrorists in planning this operation. And we know that you have passed on the Carsolia virus to Celtic Cross so they can use it to impede the British government's response to the neutron bomb and any other attack they or you are planning. Is that correct?"  
Jack grabbed Jahah's hand and slammed the hammer hard on two of his fingers, completely smashing several joints. Jahah grunted but was otherwise still unemotional.  
"Abu, you were right earlier when you mentioned your family in Baghdad, a family of terrorists, thugs, kidnappers, and psychopaths. You told me how nothing can compare to the suffering you went through when they were killed. How about this?"  
Jack opened up the blinds separating the center cabin from the rear cabin of the plane, revealing his first wife and three children tied up in their seats. Abu's eyes opened wide in horror.

"We are on our way to London," Jack said, "And CTU and MI6 are going to house your first wife Ramara and the three children you had with her, right by Big Ben. Now you will help us find the bomb, and you will tell us everything you know about your connections to Frankie McCourt and the Celtic Cross terrorists, or you will be killing your wife and kid along with all of the innocent people you intend to murder today."  
Jahah suddenly turned from one of Iraq's toughest terrorists to a weak, pleading man, a transition even more marked than that of Stephen Saunders all those years ago.

"Ok," he cried, tears falling down his face, "I was told the Irish freedom fighters want to use the bomb to punish Britain but they didn't tell me about their plan. I sent the virus to a man named Jasper Mulligan, he's in Celtic Cross, he says they will find a way to spread the virus in Britain the way they did it in France, and you were right, to cripple…."  
"This Jasper Mulligan, have you met him?"  
"No, but I know he operates out of London, he is an expert programmer, he studied in France and…."  
"Are you getting all this?" Jack asked into his phone to CTU.

10 DOWNING STREET, LONDON (PRIME MINISTER'S RESIDENCE)

Prime Minister Jeffrey Landsdowne was awakened by a knock and the door and a beeping on his emergency phone after less than half an hour of sleep.  
"Sir, Walter Brooks is on the line from MI6," an equally sleepy aide said.  
"Mr. Prime Minister, you need to get into the situation room immediately. We have a terrible crisis on our hands."  
Landsdowne nearly dropped the phone but caught it just in time, going to get changed again.

Frankie McCourt was escorted by several terrorists in ski masks into a secret control bunker somewhere in London, then greeted the man already inside, "Today's the big day, Jasper," in a tone of sheer determination, almost mechanically.  
"He is in place as of this moment," Jasper Mulligan said in an Irish accent as he fondled the Irish cross he was wearing around his neck.  
"And he is certain our first attacks will not impact the logistics of the main hit if the British government refuses to give in to our demands?"

"Of course. His position allows him to have some control over these things, Frankie."  
"Excellent. Today will be our Lexington and Concord," he said with an evil smile, "The Americans defeated the imperialists with an army of hillbilly farmers and drunken craftsmen. This weapon we have makes us the most powerful men in the world."  
Mulligan nodded and handed him a secure satellite phone, which he dialed.

"Mr. Prime Minister, Frankie McCourt is on the other line," his Defense Minister, Gabriel Hancock said.  
"Mr. McCourt," Landsdowne said simply.

"This call itself speaks volumes of how far myself and my people have come," McCourt said in vain tone of voice, "A year ago I was shuttling around safe houses in Ulster. Today, I have an audience with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom himself."  
"Let us spare the insolence, Mr. McCourt. You have something to say to me."  
"As you are quite aware, I have what you call…insolence…ironic, isn't it, given the arrogance of your own empire, enslaving my ancestors, even today helping the Americans in their adventure to plunder the resources of faraway lands? As I was saying, I have insolence because you WILL listen to me, because I am in possession of a weapon that will bring devastation to your shores unless my unnegotiable demands are met."  
"Yes, the neutron bomb your men have just stolen."

"Your intelligence service are quite capable, but I have my tracks covered, Mr. Landsdowne."  
"What do you want?"  
McCourt smiled to himself and said in an amused tone. "What do you think I want? What do you think my people have been fighting for in the past sixty years?"  
"You can't be serious," Landsdowne remarked.

"You know my organization does not bluff, we always live up to our word. You will withdraw all British military forces from Northern Ireland, and your government will grant us our independence. I want the resignation of every single political leader in my home province who is not a Catholic Irishman, who was appointed by the imperialist occupation government led by yourself. Your representative in the United Nations will announce publicly that Great Britain surrenders all claims to "  
"Mr. McCourt, you are asking for something, a process that will take weeks at the very least."

"But you can start by having your people in my province leave our homeland and ordering your forces out. Now, if this process does not begin in two hours, we will give you a demonstration of our power, and our willingness to spill the blood of our sworn enemies. In five hours after that, we will give you a more serious demonstration. And, by noon tomorrow, if my demands have not been met, we will detonate this neutron bomb in London. Mark my words, Mr. Prime Minister, if you attempt to evacuate the Olympic Games or any part of London, or if your government leaves England, I will order the detonation of the bomb immediately."

….6AM BRITISH ISLES TIME.


	16. Episode 15

EPISODE 15

EPISODE 15

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 6AM AND 7AM BRITISH TIME (12AM TO 1AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

CTU  
"Okay," Ray said around the conference table, with a teleconference from the Texas hotel where Heller, Mike, Pete, McDaniels, and Nate Williams were gathered, "The theft took place at the laboratory of Dr. Richard Kinkle, an esteemed nuclear physicist who has spent a lifetime doing research on nuclear power plants. As far as we know he has a clean record, even helping with the decommissioning of nuclear reactors in Eastern Europe and Libya. We believe the leak lies with Maurice DuJour, who has been taken into custody in Paris. As head of French intelligence he had access to this classified information."  
"What are the casualty estimates for the terrorists' upcoming attacks?" Heller asked.  
Morris spoke up. "So far we know that Celtic Cross and/or Mesopotamia Jihad Brigade are in control of the Carsolia computer virus, three strains of weaponized anthrax and this neutron bomb. We believe they will launch the anthrax first because Frankie McCourt has just called Prime Minister Landsdowne with demands, which include an immediate British surrender to all claims over Northern Ireland and the recalling of all officials loyal to Britain. The neutron bomb is an upgraded version designed by Mr. Kinkle and is significantly deadlier than prototypes we're familiar with. The immediate physical destruction will only be a couple city blocks, but it will release deadly radiation within a twenty mile radius of ground zero according to our models with stagnant winds. With the current weather systems moving through the British Isles in the next three days, if detonated deaths can spread far beyond the immediate London area."

The government officials shook their heads in desperation. "Go ahead, Morris," Heller said.

Morris displayed a large map of the London area and zoomed in on the Olympic venues. "The most immediate threat is the anthrax attacks. We believe McCourt's most likely target will of course be at the Olympics. Anthrax is very difficult to detect and it can easily be smuggled into stadiums. While competition has been cancelled today there will be major memorial services for the victims in France as well as large congregations of athletes in the Olympic Village, as well as hotels, subway stations, movie theaters, and retail establishments around the Olympics area. If this is the case, and given the incubation period of the anthrax, this can be spread beyond Britain if we are not careful. In any case, no one is looking at a successful Olympics anymore for our British friends. We believe that if CTU and MI6 cannot find the neutron bomb, the Prime Minister will have no choice but to comply with McCourt's demands, after which we believe Celtic Cross will retain the device as insurance policy, and perhaps duplicate it."

"Other targets for conventional attacks?" Mike asked.  
"Lower than might otherwise be expected since today is a Saturday, so we don't have to worry about the morning rush. We also can't discount the possibility of attacks in other British cities. There are sporting events, concerts, and other events elsewhere in the nation. The London transit system becomes crowded later on today, which gives us a slight window of opportunity to find the terrorists before their first strike."

"The British have a man who will attempt to go back undercover with Celtic Cross in the next two hours," Bill said, "Jack Bauer's father, Clyde Mitchell, a former CIA agent who is working with MI6 under the name Clyde Jenkins. He's served inside the Celtic Cross as a spy before he was transferred to Mideast and had to fake his death after his escape from Yemen."

"Isn't this familiar," McDaniels muttered softly before speaking up for the others. "So you are saying, besides Clyde Jenkins and Jack Bauer, neither CTU nor MI6 have any leads on Celtic Cross?"  
"Jack is questioning Abu Jahah, an Iraqi Sunni insurgent captured in Paris, the man responsible for releasing the Carsolia virus in Paris. We're also following up a lead on a terrorist named Jasper Mulligan, a computer expert suspected of involvement with Irish fringe groups.

ROYAL AIR FORCE BASE-UXBRIDGE, OUTSIDE LONDON

The CTU 737 taxied to a stop in the misty English morning and Jack breathed the fresh air as he walked down the flight of stairs, emerging on the military airfield, holding Audrey's hand.  
Several vehicles belonging to MI6 were waiting beside the plane and a British agent approached Jack.  
"Edward Browning, MI6," he said, shaking Jack's hand, "Welcome to London."  
"Thanks," Jack replied, "I've been briefed on the latest updates from MI6 and CTU so you don't have to worry about it."

Jack immediately liked this young man, with light brown hair, blue eyes, 5 foot 9 inches tall with a buzz cut, a lot more than he initially liked Pierre, though he had discovered Pierre was a brave if unexperienced agent and it was tragic that he had given his life for his country thanks to Maurice DuJour only a few hours ago. Jack felt sad about Pierre, but he was shocked that a simple sadness was all he felt. What kind of person am I? Jack asked himself silently as he excused himself so he could go over to Audrey. Working at CTU, especially in field ops, rips you up inside out. Jack recalled breaking down in a transport plane the day he thought Stephen Saunders was killed in the former Yugoslavia. It was the first time he had lost a friend this way. But ever since Teri was murdered right in CTU Los Angeles, he had almost become used to losing people much closer to him than Saunders had been. George Mason, Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler, Ryan Chapelle, Gael Ortega, David Palmer, Claudia Salazar, Edgar Stiles, Curtis Manning, and all of the innocent CTU personnel killed in the past six years. Then Jack let a tear fall, for Curtis, the valiant agent he had worked with for only two days, Pierre, the young Frenchman he had known for only a few hours, for the over 1,000 people killed by the terrorists in France as he looked into Audrey's deep green eyes.

"Jack, I know how much this means to you," Audrey said, "About your father, about getting the people who killed Curtis." She pressed her face against his. Jack felt her peppermint breath drift to his nose, and smelled the pineapple lotion she had placed on her skin, and he finally let his tears come as a gentle breeze blew past them, Jack watching Audrey's blonde hair flicker amid the pinkish-orange mist of this beautiful English morning. Jack cried for everything he had put Audrey, Kim, and everyone he cared about through, and in the deepest part of him, he just wished this moment he was sharing with Audrey would last forever. He loved her more than anything in the world, and if they could just be here for eternity, if that magically soothing mist was over a cottage in the Outer Banks or a swaying Caribbean palm tree, in a world without guns and bombs and jihads. Their lips met for five seconds, five seconds that carried them away from the airfield and the terrorist threats to just the two of them, in paradise, and during these five seconds, Jack made up his mind that if he could get through this day, he would never have to imagine this again. He would make it happen. He owed it to Audrey, to Kim, and to the memory of Tony, David, Edgar, and Curtis, the man whose empty coffin is now being loaded onto a plane in Baghdad so it could be flown home to the U.S.

"Audrey, I swear to you, when this is over, I will never leave your side again," Jack finally said through both of their sobs until Agent Browning interrupted them, apologetically saying they had to head to CTU now and that Jack's father was waiting for them there.

"CTU can fly you home on that plane, it's not safe here," Jack said.  
"No, Jack, I want to come with you," she said, "No matter what happens today…I don't' want to think like this, but even if this is the end, I want to be here with you. I just want to be right here for you." She wiped away some more tears and took out some Kleenex. "My life wouldn't be worth living if I ever have to say goodbye again. I want to do everything I can to help you finish this so we can go home together, and make up for all the time that's been taken from us."

Jack kissed her again and held her hand. It touched him deeply what she was doing. Sometimes he had secretly felt insecure with Audrey, having a sense of inadequacy, wondering how a girl as special as Audrey Raines could ever be his, but standing here in the mist, watching the pink hue of the misty sunrise reflected in her crystal eyes, he knew that everything he had gone through had been worth it. All the days in China when he was beaten by Cheng Zhi's men, the week he spent in the wild wastes of northern China on his escape to the Russian border, it was this image of Audrey, and of Kim of course, that kept him going, that held out hope for him. As Jack and Audrey got into the Ford Crown Victoria taking them into central London, Jack knew that if he could get through the next couple hours, this could all be his forever.

HOUSTON

British-accented male reporter on TV standing in from of Olympic Village: "All hopes of a successful hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics in Britain have been dashed as International Olympic Committee authorities and British officials cancelled competition for today in rememberance to the more than one thousand people confirmed killed in France in a series of attacks by homegrown and international Islamic terrorists. Meanwhile, the British government is taking additional security measures, including temporarily closing the English Channel tunnel as well as all sea and air links with France for the remainder of the Games, a decision that will cost the United Kingdom tens of billions of pounds in…"

"Hopefully this will tie the Americans' hands enough," Grigory said as Ilya sat down next to him at the small bar next to the lobby in this Days Inn motel on Katy Freeway. "I called Jose, and he is driving the RV, he's on his way to Mexico now."  
"We should cross the border in three days, get a flight from Juarez," Ilya said, "I have had enough of this freaking country."  
"The Americans will be looking for us, no doubt," Vassily said, "We involved ourselves with the President's son, of all people. Richard will want to protect himself and he will implicate us. He is working for the Chinese."

"If I may suggest," Misha said, "Russia has a consulate in this city, we should go there. The Americans can't touch us there."  
Vassily cursed in Russian and said, "You fool, Misha Alexdreivch, we have more to fear from the Russian government than from the U.S. authorities. We will spend the night here, and then I will decide where to proceed."

AIRBORNE OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

Chase Edmunds woke up and got to work after a long sigh, trying to put his conversation with Jack behind him for now. He dialed a number, reaching Aaron Pierce. "Any leads?"  
"A little," Pierce said, "Our agents have contacted Clark Construction and spoke with the man running the Walgreens site, and we've forwarded these photos of an unidentified man to you. We believe he is responsible for stealing the cement truck that was in the Ingrams killing attempt."  
"You mean the Cohen murders."  
"Yeah, that too."  
Chase opened up a special program on his computer and linked it with a central CTU database for photo matches. No matches.

HOUSTON

Mike Novick paced around in the humid subtropical air, walking next to the brightly-lit neon-blue swimming pool on the hotel grounds. He needed to be alone at a time like this, and looking at the gentle ripples in the water, hearing the crickets chirp and watching the moon through the willows had a calming effect. He needed this moment, to think about Kylie, about everything that's happened in Europe, and about all the things he had gone through the past six years. His contemplation was disturbed by his ringing phone. "Yes, Bob?" he asked.

A brief split screen showed Bob Fraser sitting in the atrium of his corporate headquarters with indoor palms, tropical flowers, and a futuristic looking fountain and tropical fish tank behind him. "Mike, I've been trying to reach you for yearly two hours."  
"I'm sorry, Bob, but as you might have heard, we have a major crisis on our hands." Mike couldn't tell him about the anthrax or the stolen neutron bomb and had to pretend this was still the main issue right now besides France, where the violence was under control now.

"Mike, I just don't think Heller gets this. You know we both are looking for a future in making America independent from foreign oil, to be more environmentally friendly, but we can't do that if we lose all of our research and contruction rights in China. I got a call from the Chinese consul tonight saying they will cancel our deals if the Sunbelt Airlines thing falls through."  
"There's nothing more I can tell you, Bob, I'm sorry. This isn't any easier for me."  
"Mike, I'm just letting you know, I'm under a lot of pressure from my board of directors to endorse Senator Yarnal for the presidency. They're questioning your ability to defend our interests. I vouched for you, and they believed me, thinking you will be able to deliver your promises. China has the ability to cut us off from our markets, they even threatened to close the port of Shanghai and Guangzhou to BP North America deliveries and to close our pipeline from Southeast Asia."

Mike shook his head. How much worse can this day get?  
"Bob, I will talk to the president. Let me assure you, everything is being done on my end to find a satisfactory solution for both parties."  
"I want to stick with you Mike, but you gotta give me something to work with," Bob said.  
"I understand that."  
Several yards away, Peter Ricardo-Sanchez was listening in on the conversation.

WEST END, LONDON

We see a middle class area of low-rise red brick apartments along tree-lined streets with moderate traffic, and the sun is now higher in the sky.  
Jake Francis closed the door behind him as he walked down the narrow corridor inside the apartment unit as Frankie McCourt came forward.  
"Good day, Uncle," Jake said.  
As quick as a cheetah, McCourt leapt forward and grabbed Jake's collared shirt and swung him over the kitchen table, breaking it. "I specifically ordered you to kill the girl the moment you left Dublin," he snarled, "Do you know what you could have done for our struggle?"  
"Uncle Frankie, I…"

McCourt pistol whipped him with his Cougar Magnum. "I don't want to hear any more of those excuses! The British now know about the neutron bomb because Carolyn survived and told MI6! I understand you knew Carolyn, but remember the first lesson I taught you? DO YOU??"  
McCourt cocked his gun and aimed it at Jake.  
"To be emotionally detached, to think of nothing but the freedom of the Irish Catholic people. Uncle, I apologize. I am willing to die, and to do anything, and to kill anyone, for the sake of our people's freedom."  
McCourt grabbed him up from the floor and pushed him against the fridge. "Prove it to me. You will be leading the first wave of attacks. Are you sure you are up for this?"  
"Yes, uncle," Jake replied, gasping for breath.

CTU EUROPE

"Jack, I know this will be very difficult for you," Ed Browning said as he, Jack, and Audrey got out of the car and got into the elevator into the CTU. CTU Europe was located in a converted hotel building that shut down due to competition from the major chains. The U.S. Embassy had purchased this property and the top floors were made into the CTU command center for all of Western Europe while many of the hotel rooms served as residential quarters for temporary staff for cases like the current Olympic Games.

They reached the end of a short corridor and into the wide expanse of the CTU control area, which was in nearly the same layout as the Los Angeles division. Chloe ran up and gave Jack a long hug, while Jack and Bill shared a shorter embrace.  
"Your father's up in the private conference room," Bill said, "You can have a few moments alone with him before you are briefed on the mission."  
Shari and Morris smiled at Jack, which he acknowledged before looking up at the large screens above them showing security camera footage from downtown Underground stations, a shopping mall, and several famous landmarks.  
Jack hesitated briefly before entering the conference room, but he pushed open the door and saw his father, which he believed had died ten years ago in Pakistan.

"Dad," he said softly and walked over. The two men embraced for a long time, and they were both holding back tears as they sat back down in comfy chairs by the table.  
Clyde began, "I know how difficult it must have been for you to see me alive like this."  
"You don't need to explain it, since as you know I've had to do the same thing." Jack paused and tried to control his emotions. "You know, Mom had a nervous breakdown after your funeral, when the CIA came to our house and told us about the bodies of your fellow agents when Delta Force conducted the rescue operation in Yemen. What happened after that, dad?"

"What can I say? You went through the woods, I went through the desert. Sheik Ravid took me on his plane and flew to Pakistan before the Yemeni government exiled him. This was the same Ravid that blew up the refineries in Kuwait. They hid me in the caves for two years, making me work as a slave, trying to torture information out of me. Some days, when Sheik Ravid was gone, it was better."

Jack was visibly grief-striken by his father's narrative. "If I hadn't been taken by the Chinese, I wouldn't have understood what you've been through. The moment I heard you were alive, my first reaction was that I was angry with you, for not even trying to make contact with me, my brother, and Mom. But Agent Browning told me how you knew everything all along while you were in hiding."  
"Jack, I never thought you'd understand. When MI6 told me your mother died, I wanted to kill myself. I blamed myself for accepting that mission to Yemen."  
"You were doing your job, dad, just like every one of those troops and agents who died that day."

"You don't understand, Jack, I asked to be on it. Ravid ordered a hit on a good college buddy of mine, a guy named Ali Modiri, who became deputy director of Bahraini intelligence. When he was on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Ravid's men fired rockets into their hotel and killed him along with entire family, including his 2-year old daughter, and dozens of innocent guests."

Jack put his hand over his eyes, looking very distraught. Wasn't this what he was going right now? Terrorists had killed Curtis Manning today, and he involved himself in the day's events. The battle in the Paris streets, the hostage situation, these were all unexpected. But now Mohammed Abbas and Faisal Hassan were both dead, but he was too caught up in the mission. Maybe it was watching all those innocent people walk past him on the streets of Paris and London, like how he decided to try to save LA after all on that fateful day with the Second Wave bomb when he saw the mother and child walking past the CTU parking lot.

Jack told himself that he should leave, that he should just take Audrey right now, get back to the airfield, and fly back to America. Yet something held him back. He decided it had to be the man sitting across from him right now.

AIRBORNE OVER NORTH CAROLINA

"I got a match," Chase said over the phone to Pierce. "The man at the construction site is Yassily Dmitriev Solozskiy, Russian national, former member of the Russian Army, discharged three years ago."  
"Why would the Russians be helping the Chinese in trying to make sure the Sunbelt deal goes through?"  
"I'm going to contact the Russian consulate but I'm pretty sure Misha is part of a mercenary team, possibly hired by China." Chase had to think of the gravity of the realization he had just come to, and immediately dialed President Heller's line.

CHINESE CONSULATE, HOUSTON

"Comrade Consul, I have just spoken with Anthony Silverman in Las Vegas and told him we will revoke his artificial island casino resort project in Macau if we fail to acquire Sunbelt Airlines," the Chinese consulate aid told Kwan Ming. "I told him everything rests on his President."

Kwan Ming spit out some of his cognac as he laughed in anticipation, then wiped his mouth and took another gulp of Tsingtao, China's national beer. "Oh you are a smart girl," Kwan said, patting the aide on the back and squeezing her shoulders. "Mr. Silverman is one of Heller's greatest campaign contributors, Heller's buddy when they both lived in California. Silverman has put more money on his Macau resort than on five Las Vegas Strip hotels combined!"

"We got both Heller and Novick, now that we got to Bob Fraser here in Houston," the aide said, pouring the consul some more wine, "And if we are lucky, as we celebrate our great victory about the Western devils, the people from Silicon Valley and Wall Street are also jamming President Heller's phone lines driving his secretary crazy."

KHABAROVSK, RUSSIA  
"…..pressure on the Americans…their business leaders have been warned of the consequences if their government…" the Chinese was translated automatically into Russian Cyrillic on the computer screen in Byolov's base as Kwan Ming spoke to Cheng Zhi on the phone.  
"We should go to Moscow with this," a young technician said, "We have treaty obligations with the Americans, and it is clear the Chinese are up to no good. Why would Cheng Zhi be involved in this American airline deal?" The young Russian had heard the Sunbelt news on Russia's news media.  
Byolov entertained this thought then slowly nodded. "Make it medium priority, and keep on listening to it. I can smell a fish from a mile away, and Cheng Zhi is a fish….a slimy one."

CTU

"They tortured me, tried to brainwash me, Jack," Clyde said. "They made me watch execution videos of civilian hostages in Afghanistan, they beat me every day."  
"My God, how did you get out?" Jack asked.  
Clyde shuddered as he tried to remember the experience. "I knew a lot more Arabic than my captors thought I did, and also learned some Pashto when I joined the agency. Ravid's men had a falling out with one of the local tribes and when the tribesmen came for a duel with the militants, they freed me. I made my way down to the Pakistani coast with Ravid's men hunting me for three weeks in the desert, then stowed away on board a Nigerian cargo ship."

"And then you came here and got involved with MI6."  
"I worked with MI6 in Northern Ireland and the Middle East on several occasions and have some very good friends here, so they gave me a new identity as Clyde Jenkins, a shipyard worker, a bit better than an oil rig in the Mojave Desert, I guess. I knew Ravid and his allies were hunting for me, and if I ever went back home, I would put you, your brother, and Mom in danger."

"And they brought you out of hiding for today?"  
"Nobody else in MI6 has earned the trust of Celtic Cross as well as I have. I made contact with Frankie McCourt several hours ago. To them, I'm their mole in MI6, and I've managed to feed them enough information to make it believable. They're the only group in Northern Ireland who still refuses to accept the peace agreement. They believe I'm an Irish American who suddenly discovered my roots and cared for the struggle, much like those young Arab Americans who helped kidnap Heller when he was SecDef, I guess."  
"And where do I come in?" Jack asked.  
"Well, you're my son, if they trust me, they gotta trust you too."

HOUSTON

"It's starting," Suz Novick said to Richard as they walked down a flight of service stairs and emerged on the tarmac by the wheels of a commercial airliner, followed by a large stream of people. A large crowd, including reporters, had gathered around Senator Yarnal's jet parked in the middle of the tarmac. There were people from almost every domestic airline that flew into Hobby airport, as well as people from other transport companies and airport employees. There was also a large contingent from the University of Houston and Rice University there protesting the loss of American jobs to China if the deal went through. There were loud cheers as they walked onto the runway. Then Suz's phone buzzed again, and she picked up this time.

"Dad, you have some nerve calling me right now."  
"Talk about nerve, Kylie? I know losing Sheila was difficult for you, as it was for me, but do you know the damage you just caused, going in front of the entire world and endorsing Yarnal? That man is dangerous for national security. He only cares about appeasing the hippies and the bleeding hearts all over this country."  
Suz stepped to the side, toward a fleet of food delivery trucks where it was a bit quieter so she could talk. "And what do you care about, dad?" she asked, sobbing now. "You always talk about ordinary people, it's all a lie, isn't it?" she nearly screamed now. "Some of my friends here who fly with me, they need their jobs right now right here. They're supporting their families."

"Kylie, today Williams spoke down about you as just a flight attendant and you didn't know it when I stood up to him about it, or about the times I stood up to him and others when they patronized fishermen and computer scientists and auto workers."  
"God, dad, I'm so SICK and TIRED of this BS. Why don't you speak with your policies instead? You remember that girl Molly I work with on the Denver route? Her dad's having surgery for cancer and she's a single mom trying to provide for her sons. Or about Rob, the guy who spends ten hours a day loading suitcases into the cargo hold…"  
"Kylie, please, you've never had to be put in my position…"  
"All you ever care about anymore is your campaign contributions and those are the people you're standing up for, people like Bob Fraser who already has vacation homes in Colorado AND Mexico and Martha's Vineyard. And it's not just this dad. Why don't you pick up this week's issue of Newsweek, read about those kids in Iraq who are orphans because their parents were what you call collateral damage in the war on terror? Young women just like me who die in the desert in Mexico just cause they want a better life?"  
"Kylie, those people you hung around in college, they were using you, just like Richard is being used by the same people. if you will just give me a minute to explain…."

She was hysterical by now. "They're not USING me. Half this country believes what I believe, and I have a right to support whichever candidate I want, this is a freaking democracy, maybe you don't think so but it is. You know WHAT? I wish you weren't my dad! You're just a liar and a crook just like Heller and everyone else in your camp. Hell, maybe you killed Sheila…"

Suddenly there were multiple flashes and the press descended on her.  
"Is that on the record about your suspicions regarding your father?" a San Francisco Chonricle reporter asked.  
A split screen showed Vassily, Ilya, and Misha walking toward across the parking lot of the motel from the restaurant and Jack and his father walking out of the conference room, then Jake Francis walking out of the door onto a London courtyard, passing some teenagers walking two Dalmatian puppies.

HOUSTON, TEXAS

"Russia is still home, Vassily," Ilya said, "We have friends there."  
Vassily paused on the landing in the exterior stairwell going up to their second floor rooms in the Days Inn, which had the typical outdoor motel layout with exposed walkways and stairs. There was a rustling noise from around a corner and they glimpsed two shadows running away very quickly, then a Pizza Hut delivery vehicle pulled into an empty space and the delivery man got out, meeting a young black man with his Hispanic wife from their first floor motel room. Vassily and Ilya were clearly nervous wrecks now. Vassily motioned for Ilya to be quiet as they made their way to the second floor walkway, then walked half a block length toward their room. Ilya swung around a corner with his hand on his Glock pistol, looking into the room with the washing machines, ice machine, and vending machine. He gave the all clear signal.

Vassily shrugged and commented, "That was nothing, probably just some drunk young American men who just left Hooters. We've worked in worse places than here, this is no time to lose our nerve."

Ilya took the electronic key and swiped open the door, and Vassily pushed it open. Sprawled out in front of the door was Misha's body with two bullet holes in his forehead with a pool of blood staining the green carpet into a dark red. On the other side of the motel, bordering the bright lights of a shopping center, we see two Chinese men with Glock pistols hiding behind a soda machine, and one of them makes hand gestures to the other.

……..7AM


	17. Episode 16

EPISODE 16

EPISODE 16

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 7AM AND 8AM BRITISH TIME (1AM TO 2AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Ilya took out his cell phone and called Grigory, who was in the parking lot smoking a cigarette. "Someone is after us, they killed Misha."  
"What?" Grigory exclaimed, spitting out his cigarette and nervously looking around the parking lot and making his way toward the closest overhang from the motel, trying to avoid the lights of the strip mall and movie theater nearby. "How? Who did it?"  
"He was shot in the head. This was clearly a professional hit."  
"Damn it, the Americans double crossed us!"  
Vassily grabbed the phone and said after some quick thinking, "I don't think so. This is America, they wouldn't do things this way. They will arrest us and put us on trial and then execute us. Grigory? Grigory?"

Grigory saw one of the gunmen raise his weapon and he fired several silenced. shots, missing, the bullets ricocheting off of the metal of the stairwell. "Someone is after me," Grigory finally said into the phone, "I'm on the McDonald's side of the motel."  
Vassily and Ilya drew their weapons and rushed through an opening separating two sets of rooms on the second floor and went in separate directions. One of the Chinese gunmen saw Vassily and fired off several shots, but Vassily ducked behind a corner and the shots went past, shattering a Coke machine and sending an avalanche of aluminum soda cans clanging onto the cement walkway. Lights began coming on and several guests cursed.

"You idiot, I told you to be quiet," one of the Chinese men said to his partner in Chinese before reloading. Grigory jumped up from behind a parked SUV and fired more shots, killing one of the Chinese men. The other Chinese agent turned around to respond and Vassily and Ilya simultaneously shot him three times each, the man falling against a parked car and then sliding to the ground. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of sirens as police with flashing lights approached the motel complex.

MI6/CTU/LONDON

A split screen showed an analyst with the CD-ROM from the package Clyde had given to Jane Saunders, then showed Jack and Clyde talking, then Jake Francis on a street corner.  
"I just ran a search for Jasper Mulligan," Chloe said. "Jahah's info checks out. He's a suspected member of Celtic Cross, studied in Stuttgart, Germany the same time as Abu Jahah."  
"I know who he is," Clyde replied, "He's responsible for a lot of the money laundering and cyberattacks conducted by Celtic Cross. He works for WebGuards, ironically, a company specializing in anti-virus software based in Spitalfields just east of the city center." A screen in the background showed a map of the Spitalfields area of the city and zoomed in on a mid-rise brick structure in a neighborhood of mixed modern and historical architecture.

"Makes perfect sense, actually," Chloe said one of her signature scowls, "These companies need viruses or else who would buy their products?"  
Jack ignored her and asked his father, "So how are we going to go about finding this man? I've dealt with people like him my entire career, he's probably has other moles inside the company as well as men stationed around the building, especially if the terrorists' main attack is to occur today or tomorrow.

At MI6, Walter Brooks walked onto the main floor and approached the technician whose desk the CD-ROM is sitting on, along with Jane Saunders.  
"Checked this out yet? The information from Clyde?"  
"Not yet," the man said, "We're still running surveillance on suspected target areas and coordinating fields teams with the Irish government."  
"Try to get to it within the hour," Brooks said, "We believe Celtic Cross is the primary threat now and that the Mesopotamia Jihad is handing over the operation to them."  
The man nodded and said, "I'll get to it."

Brooks and Jane walked up a set of stairs to another area with computers and desks. "What did the Irish government say?" Jane asked.  
"They've given us our full cooperation. That's not much though, given that McCourt has always been based in Belfast and not the Republic. Our friends in Dublin are as pissed as we are about what happened with the stolen weapons but they're not really the ones to blame."  
"McCourt's as hated in Ireland as he is here. Just one misguided fanatic," Jane said.  
"But he does have control of the Carsolia virus, the anthrax, and now the neutron bomb."

HOUSTON

Vassily and Ilya sped down Katy Freeway as the police units pulled into the motel parking lot and officers took up positions around the building, with many guests opening their doors and looking at the commotion there.  
Ilya began operating the car's GPS system. "What is the address of our consulate?" he asked in Russian.  
"I don't know. Just call somebody and find out, it won't matter if they trace this call, the Americans will know soon enough anyway, no less than twenty people saw us back there. We need to get to Russian soil to be safe."

HOBBY AIRPORT

"Agent Edmunds, we're about to land so just make sure your seat belts are secure," the co-pilot said as he stuck his door from the cockpit out into the spacious cabin on this private CTU flight. He nodded.  
"Wow," Angela said in her childish voice as she stared out the window as the plane made a quick descent through the cloud cover over the dazzlingly sea of lights that seemed to spread forever.  
Chase's phone rang as the jet passed near the gigantic office towers of Houston's central skyscraper district before approaching the airport.  
"What do you have for me, Agent Pierce?"

Pierce was sitting in a mobile Secret Service command unit parked on the hotel grounds at the Marriott Renaissance Greenway Plaza, where the President and VP were staying.  
"We've been in contact with the Russian government and they've been very cooperative after Logan's treaty. Misha and three other associates were known to have formed a mercenary team since they were discharged following the Chechnya war. They've worked in the U.S. before in New York for various criminal outfits though most of their operations have been in Europe."  
"Any idea who hired them?"

The plane's wheels touched down and they could see the scenery of Hobby airport and the large crowd of protestors from the airline unions and other industries lined up on the tarmac.  
"I know you expected this to be a routine assignment but this doesn't look good, Chase," Pierce said. Pierce knew Chase wasn't too happy being assigned here rather than Europe.  
"Tell me about it," he said.  
"Misha was found dead after a major shootout at a Days Inn motel in the suburbs where he and the others were staying. Another Russian mercenary was also dead on the scene, as well as two Chinese men. Local police and FBI are still trying to identify the Chinese bodies, but Misha's death was a professional hit, no doubt about it."  
"My God," Chase said.  
"What's the matter, dear?" Kim asked.

Chase motioned for her to hold on and said to Pierce, "You're telling me the Chinese hired these people to assassinate Sunbelt Airlines' main attorney to help sabotage Sunbelt's defense against the takeover deal?"  
"That's what it goods like," Pierce replied. "There's more. Two of the other members of the mercenary team have fled the motel and the FBI is looking for them. I have a car ready for you to take you to the President's hotel where we're coordinating things from."  
"Okay, keep me updated," Chase replied.  
He turned to Kim. "It's ok baby, this is an investigation, not a field op. No undercover or whatever."

LONDON STREETS and WEBGUARD HEADQUARTERS

"Clyde, nice to hear your voice," Jasper said in his Irish accent in his window office with a slightly distant view of Big Ben.  
"I'm on my way to your office," Clyde said, "I need to talk to you. The British are further along in their operation than we expected. We may need to make changes in our plans."  
"What? I covered my tracks perfectly. They can't link me to…"  
"It's not safe to discuss this over the phone. Cancel any appointments you have today. Once we accomplish our mission you won't have clients anymore," Clyde said, faking a good evil laugh.

"I'm also bringing someone else. My son. He's also a soldier of Eire and committed to our glorious cause and his heart yearns to spill some English blood in the name of our people."  
Jasper stared out the window. "How capable is he?"  
"He was trained in the U.S. military," Clyde replied, "He's served in Afghanistan."  
"Good. I'm only allowing this because it's you, Clyde. You've been a great soldier to our cause, and it will be an honor for us to share our victory with your son. It is refreshing to hear of such people how that Ireland's young people care nothing for the struggle and have forgotten their history."  
"Well, today we will remind them," Clyde replied. "Because we haven't forgotten."

HOUSTON

Vassily cursed in Russian as he saw several police cars turn onto Katy Freeway from behind and begin speed up with sirens blaring.  
A cop floored his accelerator and two others followed him. "This is Unit 56, we have the suspects in a Ford Taurus heading west on Katy Freeway."  
"Got, it, dispatching backup," the dispatcher said.

Vassily saw another line of police cars setting up a roadblock several blocks ahead on this wide suburban highway. The Russian made a sharp right into a parking lot of a major mall, the left wheels going in midair for a while. They swerved to avoid a mall security car and sped through a parking garage.

"Suspects are inside the Westfield Shopping Center, going through the Macy's garage."

Chase heard the conversations from his Secret Service vehicle. "I need to be patched through to the FBI field office," he said to the Secret Service dispatcher.

Vassily slammed on the brakes as he saw another vehicle, a Yukon, coming quickly at him but it was too late. He scraped the other vehicle and the Ford plowed through some bushes and into then smashed the side of a Toyota sedan.  
"What the hell?" the man driving the Yukon said, getting out of his car. Ilya raised his gun and Vassily grabbed his hand, the bullet flying up into the ceiling. Ilya cursed in Russian and Vassily said to the man. "I'm taking your car, and if you make any wrong moves I will let my friend shoot you."  
The man quickly nodded as the Russians stole his vehicle and drove away.

"This is dispatch. We have FBI units converging on the south side of the Regal Cinemas 15 and more by the food court entrance. No sign of them yet."

CHINESE CONSULATE, HOUSTON

"We lost contact with the men we sent to kill the mercenaries," Consul Kwan Ming said on the phone to Cheng Zhi.  
"What do you mean? You told me you had the best people. You said they are from the People's Liberation Army."  
"We could not send a larger team or the Americans would have suspected us," Kwan replied. "The Russians are also ex-military."  
"If the Americans capture them it will be a disaster for us. They will tell the Americans about Richard Heller and then the Americans will have additional leverage against us. If that happens, capturing Jack Bauer will no longer help us."

KHABAVORSK, RUSSIA

"Cheng, you snake," General Bylov breathed.  
"Moscow will not like this," the young Russian technician said, "We just happened to find out Cheng Zhi is blackmailing the Americans using Jack Bauer AND that China has hired OUR mercenaries to murder people on American soil."  
"I want you to forward everything to Moscow, they will handle it," Bylov said.

HOUSTON

"Suspects have stolen a Yukon, Texas plates 56YUT, they're at the edge of the mall going past the Outback Steakhouse."

Vassily cursed again as he saw even more police cars emerging. It seemed the night was filled with the flashing blue and red lights.  
"This GPS is useless!" Ilya cried. "It was all Misha's fault, he suggested we take this job. Here we are in this city we know nothing about. We've never operated in a crazy environment like this."  
They were used to operating in urban environments like New York and Western Europe, where there were many alleyways and hiding places, not in American suburbia with its wide open streets and parking lots.  
Vassily showed some relief as he saw a Greyhound bus pulling into a Texaco gas station and he sped up, going across six lanes of traffic on another busy roadway and nearly causing an accident.

Vassily nodded to Ilya and the two Russian drew their weapons and ran across the blinding fluorescent lights of the pump area, reaching the bus.  
The driver looked up from his newspaper. "I don't think you two were…"  
Ilya pointed the gun at him as Vassily boarded. "Start driving or I will kill you."  
The driver nodded and Vassily fired several shots into the ceiling, causing the passengers to scream. "If you attempt to make any dumb moves, you will be killed," he said. "If you cooperate with us you will have a chance to make it out alive."  
The police units arrived at the gas station and surrounded it.

WEBGUARD HQ, LONDON and LONDON STREETS

Jasper was visibly upset as he closed the door behind him once Clyde and Jack were in his office overlooking a sky that was now cloudy and drizzling.  
"Dammit, Clyde, we've planned forever for this day," Jasper said, then turned to Jack Bauer and added, "Bierko and Kingsley had a year to take advantage of the situations presented to them, Marwan spent six years setting up his plot. We started from scratch, and I've been waiting for this day since Good Friday thirteen years ago when the rest of Ulster liberation movement sold us out."  
"The British know nothing about where the bomb is," Jack replied, "Victory is still within our grasp."

"But I was not expecting this trouble," Jasper replied as he closed the blinds as the raindrops pelted the window.  
"Nothing goes perfectly in our line of work," Clyde replied, "But we shall proceed with the plan. However in order to protect my cover inside MI6 it is imperative that you abort the release of the virus."  
"What?" Jasper asked.  
"MI6 is suspecting a mole already," Clyde lied, "And they know they will be targeted because of Abu Jahah talking to the Americans. CTU has forwarded the information to MI6 and both agencies are taking measures to track any virus that is released."

Wu spoke in Chinese into his Blackberry, "We have Bauer and his father inside a building in the Spitalfields area."  
Excellent," Cheng Zhi replied from China, "Make sure our embassy is ready for his visit. This time, it will be our terms."  
Cheng gave out a slight evil chuckle and hung up.  
Wu went into the back of an unmarked minivan and barked orders in Chinese, motioning for his men to set up positions and looking at a London map with the Chinese Embassy circled.

The MI6 programmer opened the CD case and took out the CD, preparing to insert it into the computer when Jane Saunders walked up.  
"Randy, Director Brooks wants an update on our intelligence operations in France," she said.

The programmer changed windows and told her, "Tell him that we and CTU are still working on that, though the worst of the rioting is over. I do know that we are providing intel for French military forces who have moved into Paris from Dijon and southern France. They need more ground intel before they plan their assault on the suburbs where the insurrection began. We still don't' know where Yaffa Abbas is but we believe their endgame is over."  
Jane nodded and replied, "Ok, good. Confirm with CTU the joint briefing in twenty minutes."  
"Got it," the programmer replied and inserted the disk into the CD drive.

"I don't have control of the virus," Jasper Mulligan said finally.  
"We need to find the person who does," Jack replied, "My father is right. Sacrificing this attack is nothing compared to what we will accomplish. The British dogs are afraid of us, they know that the blood of Ulster boils for our victory and that they cannot stop the inevitable liberation of Eire. They will grant us our freedom…"

"But releasing the virus will greatly hamper their investigation," Jasper began.  
"There is no investigation to speak of as of now," Clyde replied, "Even I have not been made aware of where the virus is, even Jake, Frankie's own nephew does not know it. There is no way for the accursed enemy to know nor any way to find out. The possibility of them saving a few lives after we use the bomb will not reassure them much. They WILL surrender to our demands unless they find the bomb, which they won't."

"I gave the virus to MI6 through you, through the package that was supposed to contain information about our plans," Jasper replied, "The CD-ROM contains it and once its uploaded MI6's systems will be fully infected as will be CTU, and then it will perpetuate itself throughout the British government and security networks. This version will also affect all military and defense contractors in Britain."  
Clyde immediately snatched his phone from his pocket.  
"This is Saunders," Jane replied.  
"Jane, I need you to find out who has the CD in the package I got from the terrorists. That CD must be secured immediately. "

Jane looked around and remembered seeing it on Randy's desk. She started running over as a new screen popped up on Randy's computer asking him if he wants to run the program. "Randy!"  
He looked up at her in a puzzled fashion and clicked the "Yes" button.  
"Don't run that CD!"  
"I already clicked…"  
Jane cursed and made it to his workstation. "Disconnect this machine immediately, before the virus corrupts our entire system."  
"The virus is here?" Randy asked incredulously as Jane disconnected the power to his computer and grabbed the CPU, laying it on its side.

Jane ignored him and slammed her foot down into the machine as Randy initiated a shutdown of the line of workstations nearest him, several analysts looking up in shock.  
"That was a close call," Jane breathed, sweating as she let her beautiful dark hair hang down in front of her face, exhausted. "We need to initiate a restart of our central systems to make sure everything is running smoothly."  
The staff nodded and got to work, one man going into the main server room and typing in a secure code.

HOUSTON, TEXAS

"This is Kyle Sigmund, head of the FBI Houston field office," the voice in the phone said to Vassily. The Russian mercenaries looked at the lines of flashing lights outside and saw the SWAT vehicle parked in the distance and several FBI agents with helmets and body armor.  
"I know you do not mean that," Vassily said in his Russian accent. "I know your intention is to take us into custody either through force or our surrender with no harm to the hostages."

Sigmund turned to the HRT (hostage rescue team) leader in their makeshift command post in the parking lot in front of a CVS store across Katy Freeway from the Texaco gas station.  
"This ain't good, Alex," Sigmund said, "These people are thinking logically and they still pulled this off. No way to talk them out of it."  
Sigmund got back on the line with Vassily and asked, "What do you want?"

Vassily made sure Sigmund heard the screams of the passengers then ordered them to be quiet. "There are thirty three hostages on this bus, Agent Sigmund," he said, "If you do not do exactly as I tell you to, your entire nation will watch them executed one by one."  
Ilya spoke to him in Russian, "We should make the demands about speaking to the President. Make the Americans realize the truth about Richard."  
"They'll never believe it, you imbecile, we must protect ourselves first," Vassily replied in their native language before switching to English and talking to Sigmund.  
"Is that clear to you?"

"Very clear," Sigmund replied, "What are your demands?"  
"I will be ordering the driver of this bus to take us to the consulate of Russia in this city. The hostages will be released once the bus and ourselves are on Russian soil inside the consulate grounds. Before then, if I see any police units or suspect anything along the way, I will start shooting these people."  
Sigmund cursed under his breath and turned to Alex. "Tell our teams to back down."  
Alex gave the order and the police and FBI agents and vehicles began pulling away from the gas station.

CTU

"MI6 lost limited intel but the infected workstation was disconnected in time," Chloe replied, "With damage limited to the immediate row of computers. Their backup files should be sufficient to repair the damage."  
Bill Buchanan nodded and replied, "Good. I need to talk to Jack and Clyde to see how close they are to finding the bomb."

HOBBY AIRPORT

Suz Novick gently rubbed the shoulder of a fellow flight attendant, a woman in her late 20s like Suz with curly brown hair as they sat alone in the Sunbelt Airlines employees lounge as the news coverage continued on the TV turned to CNN behind them. Her pin identified her as Molly.  
"….despite phenomenal growth following its merger with Charlotte-based New South Airways, Southeast executives in Florida today hinted it is unlikely for them to match the new 17 billion bid by Air China," the anchor was saying.  
The next screen introduced an economist saying, "…a government-owned company, Air China has unlimited monetary resources straight from the Communist Party coffers…"

"I'm not like you, Suz," Molly said, lowering the volume a bit on the TV, "I know they won't fire you when they take over, but I've got two kids to feed, and I can't just go out tomorrow and land another job. Besides, anything I do find won't be like this one."  
"I'm not going to stay even if Air China asks me to. My dad might not believe it, but I'm a patriot. Its him and the administration who are selling us out."  
"Not so fast, Suz," she heard a voice say.  
She turned around and saw Peter Ricardo-Sanchez standing in the open doorway.  
"You've got some nerve showing up here," Molly snarled at him, more hopeless than angry now.

Suz walked toward him and say, "If you're here to do my dad's bidding, you're wasting your time. I'm putting my support behind Yarnal and there's nothing you or him can do to change my mind. My father's here, isn't he? I know him well enough to know he's probably in that boarding area right there."  
Suz tried to walk past him but Pete stood in front of the door. "Yeah, he's there, but just hold off on it for a sec. I was the one who suggested we come here, and its up to him what he wants to do."

"What do you want, Pete?" Suz asked.  
"I used to advise your father to go through with this deal, but I overheard your conversation with your father on the phone," he said as the camera panned over into the large boarding area where Mike Novick was sitting, "I'm here to see things for myself."

WEBGUARD HEADQUARTERS, LONDON

"So even his own nephew doesn't now the location of the bomb?" Jack asked his father as they emerged in the lobby of the office building housing WebGuard.  
"Frankie McCourt can get pretty paranoid at times, paranoia enough to make Abu Musab al-Zarqawi seem like an overtrusting fool. Besides, if I were a terrorist with a neutron bomb that could change history, perhaps I'd be equally paranoid."  
"McCourt will be demanding answers from Mulligan and I hope he believes your story," Jack said.

"He will, hopefully. I've proven my loyalty to the cause sufficiently to him, I hope. Enough so that sometimes Brooks believes I actually do support Celtic Cross."  
"This gives us a few hours more to find out about the preliminary attacks McCourt is planning, but are we any closer to finding the main device than we were several hours ago?"  
"McCourt's already set a deadline," Clyde replied, "He's going to have to reveal the details sooner or later."

Without warning, darts struck Jack and Clyde in the back and several Chinese agents led by Wu stormed out of a van with Chinese diplomatic plates shouting in Chinese. The men grabbed the two and dragged them into the back of the van, ignoring the commotion caused among the passerby on this street. Wu splashed through a puddle and personally handcuffed Jack.  
"Move it! Drive!" Cheng Zhi shouted to the driver in Chinese and the man complied, flooring the accelerator and sending a spray of water all over the sidewalk and drenching several people as they sped off.  
Wu said into his phone, "We have Jack Bauer and Clyde Benson in custody."


	18. Episode 17

EPISODE 17

EPISODE 17

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 8AM AND 9AM BRITISH TIME (2AM TO 3AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

The episode opens with a split screen with the hijacked Greyhound bus at the Houston gas station, the Chinese embassy vehicle speeding through the light Saturday morning traffic in London, CTU scenes, and Jasper Mulligan pacing around his office and typing furiously into his computer and talking into his landline phone.

CTU and LONDON STREETS

"Jack? Jack?" Chloe asked into the phone without any answer. "Jack and his father aren't responding!" Chloe said in a suddenly worried voice.  
Audrey looked at her with a concerned look on her face. "The transmission just ended. There's no way Mulligan knows about their cover."  
Bill calmly walked over and said, "Pull up the DOD satellite feed, MI6 is too busy tracking McCourt and observing suspected Celtic Cross locations in Northern Ireland and England. Audrey, we're going to need your authorization."

"Ok, the password is S-H-E-D-A-I-S-Y," Audrey said, "The closest satellite we have is over the Ligurian Sea off the Italian coast. it has coverage over the British Isles."  
The screen showed the satellite tracking moving from a point in the Mediterranean outside of Genoa, Italy north over France to London.  
"Some password," Chloe remarked, "A hip hop artist?"

"No, it's a band I like," Audrey replied, trying to ease the tension at CTU though inside she was trembling.  
"They're pretty good," Ray, the techie from Indianapolis said, "If you're into country like me."  
"Country, ew," Chloe said with a smirk on her face.

Jack came to and elbowed one of the guards in the speeding van, knocking him against the wall. The other guard jammed a needle into Jack, and he felt himself losing control of his legs. The guard was about to inject him again when Wu turned over from the passenger seat.  
"Mr. Bauer junior, shall I say, no matter how you think, you will never escape justice for your crimes against the People's Republic of China."  
"Not only for Koo Yin's death when you invaded our consulate, but for the thirty brave Chinese soldiers you murdered during your escape to Russia," another Chinese agent added.  
"Cheung is right," Wu said, "Each of those soldiers have family members who are grieving because of you."

Wu then turned to Clyde grabbed his hair, jerking him awake, then pistol whipped him. "And you, Clyde Benson, or shall I say Steve Bauer, are guilty or helping your son the fugitive. Both of you will be put in prisons in our version of Alcatraz, in the Yellow Sea, near the border not of Siberia, but of North Korea. In an ocean filled with a thousand sharks. You will find it will not be so easy to escape from there." Wu let out a harsh laugh. "We may even contract your holding with our revolutionary cousins."

"There!" Audrey shouted, pointing to Jack and Clyde's figure leaving the front entrance of the building housing Jasper Mulligan's office. That white van, this footage was taken ten minutes ago. Chloe, track this vehicle. Morris, access the London traffic cameras."  
"Got them at an intersection on Brick Lane approaching the Hackney area. It has diplomatic plates, the Brits can't do a thing about it. D47655."  
Audrey typed the plates into the database. "Dammit, it's the Chinese."

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL SUITE, HOUSTON

"Mr. President, your daughter's on line three," the aide said.  
Heller shuffled some papers as he stood at the window with the sparkling downtown Houston skyscrapers rising behind him. "Tell her to wait just five more minutes, I'm really in the middle of something."  
"She says its urgent."  
"Fine." Heller pushed some buttons on the high-tech landline phone on the mahogany conference table set up in the luxury hotel suite.  
"Yes, Audrey?"

"Dad, the Chinese just kidnapped Jack Bauer again, and his father too. Their agents attacked them on the street outside a building where they were meeting Jasper Mulligan. They managed to convince Mulligan to abort the release of the Carsolia virus but they're in Chinese custody right now. Attempts to contact the Chinese Embassy."  
"Oh my God, Audrey, this can't come at a worse time."  
"Dad," Audrey said, "You have to do something. You're the President now, I can't lose Jack, I just can't."  
A look of concern washed over Heller's face and he gave a hand signal dismissing his aides and staff.

"I will try to speak with the Party Chairman in Beijing as soon as I can and I promise you, I will do everything in my power to secure Jack's freedom, for your sake, and for the sake of this country's dignity."  
"Thanks, Dad."  
"Mr. President, this is Bill Buchanan," Bill said.  
"Yes, Bill?" Heller asked.  
"I do not wish to rush you in any way, but I feel you should be made aware that Jack and Clyde are the only people we have inside Celtic Cross and without them back on the case in a timely fashion, we may lose any chance we have of locating the neutron bomb."  
"Ok, Bill, I understand. I'll get back to you."

HOBBY AIRPORT

"Do you understand now?" Molly asked with Suz Novick standing next to her in the Sunbelt employees lounge.  
Pete and Mike Novick nodded slowly. Mike approached Suz and said gently, "Suz, can I just please have a quick word with you?"  
Suz sighed and motioned for him to follow her into a corner decorated with pictures of Sunbelt Airlines' employees' personalized photos.  
"Kylie, the President and I have not decided that we will definitely go forward with the China deal, and coming to this place does put a different perspective of things for me," Mike admitted.  
Suz's expression was one of disbelief but she no longer seemed angry at her father. She seemed more exhausted than anything. "Can you just get to the point, please?", the word "please" coming out in a surprisingly gentle tone. Her green eyes no longer seemed to steely at this moment. "So you want me to help you prevent a strike so the negotiations can continue."

"Kylie, Pete and I and the President don't want this deal to happen any more than you do. It will be dangerous for national security, but for Jim, politics is still politics. This race is too close to call, and either way we go on this China issue, we will alienate a lot of voters, but I think Heller believes if he interferes with the deal he will lose a lot of campaign contributions, and the upcoming weeks in the Southwest and California will be crucial. And having Jonathan Yarnal in the White House can be just as devastating as increased Chinese influence in our economy."  
Even though he still talked about politics, Mike Novick's eyes kept wandering toward the wall behind Suz, at the pictures of the flight attendants, pilots, baggage handlers, and gate agents as they appeared out of uniform, at family picnics, at the beach, coaching Little League baseball, going to their kids'school sporting events. "But you're right about one thing, I can't just ignore all these people."

"I'm glad you're starting to understand," Suz said, pouring herself a cup of water from the Aquafina cooler inside the room. "I'll see what I can do regarding the strike, but you have to promise me you and Pete will do everything to convince Heller."  
Mike nodded. "I will."  
"And dad, about me and Richard and Yarnal, I know…"  
Mike sighed with a pained expression. "We can talk about that later. There's a lot of things I have to deal with right now."  
Suz looked at Molly with a guilty expression, like she was ashamed of publicly endorsing Yarnal.

Mike's phone suddenly rang as he stepped back out into a side service corridor leading to the concourse, avoiding the reporters.  
"Jim, I was just about to call you. Pete and I are at the airport right now and I'm not so sure anymore about letting the deal go through."  
"Wait, you're at Hobby right…"  
"Pete convinced me to come talk to my daughter. I…"  
"I know Suz probably told you some sad personalized stories…." Nate Williams cut it.  
"That's beside the point, people!" Jim almost shouted, "Mike, I need you and Pete to get back to the hotel immediately. Jack Bauer and his father have been captured by the Chinese."

CHINESE EMBASSY, LONDON

A Chinese soldier tore the blindfold off of Jack and he saw that he was in a stark interrogation room. The Chinese guard spit right in Jack's eyes and kicked him in the groin. Then the guard sadistically socked him in the stomach again and backfisted him in the forehead, knocking him over along with the chair he was tied to.  
"I…want one phone call…" Jack gasped.  
Another Chinese soldier came and made Jack look at a modern TV monitor, where other Chinese guards were using electric shock on his father.  
"My father had nothing to do with the attack on your consulate in Los Angeles or my escape," he said before he was zapped as well in the chest.  
"He helped you evade us in the past ten hours!" the Chinese guard screamed in accented English, "And you! You murdered thirty three Chinese servicemen and women during your adventure across our territory. This was after you were responsible for the death of our consul."  
"Let me handle this," a voice said in Chinese, then Wu emerged.

LONDON, ENGLAND

Jake Francis walked through a leafy park holding an umbrella as he passed a pond with cattails and swans and the drizzle continuing.  
"Our people are in place in Birmingham, Manchester, and Norwich as well as in some London locations," he said. "Any contact with Clyde and his son?"  
McCourt paced around nervously. "No, not yet. I don't know what's going on."  
"Remember you planned for Clyde to oversee the operation at Victoria Station."  
"I am aware of my plans, Jake. Continue preparations for our next wave of attacks, and call our man in Norwich and make sure the ferries are running as usual."  
"Yes, Uncle. Long live Eire."  
"All Hail Eire."McCourt hung up and said to the empty room in his Irish accent, "Come on, Clyde, where the bloody hell are ya?"

HOUSTON, TEXAS

"…to confirm our breaking story, suspects in the hit and run have now taken hostage a Greyhound bus and are driving toward the Russian consulate in Houston…"  
Richard Heller shook his head furiously and desperately and turned away from the screen. He finally dialed a number and Kwan Ming answered.  
"Ming, you told me you would handle this," Richard said.  
"Excuse me, Richard, but you are the one who hired these mercenaries using money your father, the President, no doubt gave you."  
"We agreed on this idea together, Ming. Now I'm being hung out to dry. I need your help."  
"It was a mistake for us to deal with you," Ming said from his office in the Chinese consulate.

"I need immunity, I tried to help your country out."  
"We don't' need you anymore, Richard. Now if you do not mind, we have a deal we will be closing in a few hours and we will be busy." Click.  
"Dammit!"  
He turned around and saw Suz walking over there.  
"What was that about?" she demanded.  
"Oh, nothing," Richard replied, "Just my friend outside, the press is refusing to go harsher on my father."  
"Oh, okay," Suz replied, though she gave him a suspicious look that he didn't see.

Chase Edmunds shook Aaron Pierce's hand as he entered the mobile command post at the hotel. The footage from helicopters showed the Greyhound bus on an interstate highway on-ramp going past several warehouses and billboards as it pulled onto the highway.

CHINESE EMBASSY, LONDON

"We start where we left off, Mr. Bauer," Wu said, "Why did you lead the invasion of our consulate in Los Angeles? This is being recorded. I know the reason you entered our territory, but of course we want your confession."  
"I told you already, Lee Jong was working with a known terrorist, Habib Marwan, who was in control of a nuclear warhead stolen from the U.S. military."  
Wu punched him in the face and shocked him again. "All lies, Mr. Bauer. You are pretending to be insane but in China insanity plea does not work. Insane people are executed nonetheless and their organs used as transplants. You will tell us the truth one way or another."

"I told you the truth," Jack replied.  
Wu grabbed Jack's throat, sqeezing his neck so hard that it began to bleed. "You will admit that you kidnapped Lee Jong on behalf of Presidents Palmer and Logan so you can gain knowledge of his research and through him, knowledge about China's strategic weapons."  
In the other room, Chinese guards injected drugs into Clyde, the man in obvious pain.

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL SUITE, HOUSTON

"It is an outrage that we are even campaigning on such a level in this state!" Heller said heatedly. "This is Texas! This is the heart of Red America, where people are supposed to share our values."  
"Sir, Yarnal has simply cashed in on those hippie types in Austin and…" National Security Advisor McDaniels began.  
"It's not just that, Jeremy. Yarnal's smear campaign is actually being believed throughout the country, even here in Texas and the heartland. If we do NOTHING and just let…"  
"Mr. President, you have Cheng Zhi, the head of Chinese intelligence, on the line," Pete said, silencing the airline debate.

"Mr. Cheng, this is President Heller."  
"As you are aware, President Heller, I am the man who led the investigation into the invasion of our Los Angeles consulate and the murder of Consul Koo Yin."  
"I am well aware of your profile, Mr. Cheng."  
"Good. I will make things very easy for you. I have Jack Bauer and his father, Clyde Benson, aka Steve Bauer, in custody. Jack Bauer invaded our consulate in order to kidnap a Chinese scientist to extract top secret information from him and has been arrested for this. They are already on Chinese soil at our embassy in London, and they will be sent to China and tried for their crimes against our nation."

"Mr. Cheng, these two agents are part of a critical ongoing field operation in Great Britain and it is imperative that as a sign of faith you return custody of them to us immediately. I assure you that once this is over, they will be prompty handed back to you."  
"Like last time?" Cheng Zhi scoffed, "Surely you don't plan to fake his death again?"  
It was clear Heller was improvising, and Mike and Pete visibly knew he was not going to surrender Jack to China ever.

"That was beyond our control," Heller replied.  
"Enough of this," Cheng said, "I will make it very easy for you. I believe there is a way we can accommodate one another, Mr. President, which you will find reasonable if you accept China as an equal to America."  
"And what way would that be?"  
"We will drop all of the charges against Jack Bauer and his father if in return, you pledge to not interfere with Air China's takeover of Sunbelt Airlines. Remember this conversation is being recorded and Bauer's crimes are on the record. So, you give us something we want, and we do the same in return."  
"Give us a moment," Heller said.  
Cheng replied, "Of course. I have all the time in the world, but you may not."

HOUSTON, TEXAS

"So basically we have five to six hours to link the Chinese to the Cohen murders and the Russian mercenaries before the deal is signed and our leverage becomes useless," Chase said.  
"That's correct," replied Pierce, "The Chinese know Jack Bauer and his father are crucial to CTU's efforts to secure the neutron bomb. The President will have no choice but to concede to China's demands that we not interfere with the deal, as difficult as it may be for him. And even more so for the Vice President."  
"Put me through to the FBI command, I need to get in contact with the hostage takers."

FBI COMMAND POST, HOUSTON

"The Russian government has agreed to the hostage takers demands to allow them entry to the consulate grounds after they threatened to start killing passengers," an FBI agent said to his superiors gathered here in the mall parking lot across from the Texaco service station.  
"Well it's our job to get them before they get there," Kyle said. He turned to Alex and asked, "Work up any scenarios yet?"

"We believe the bus will be approaching the Russian consulate in one of these three directions," Alex, the FBI HRT team leader said, pointing to a large map on a table in the makeshift command center. "They are on Interstate 10 right now, ten minutes out from downtown, and the consulate is located another 4 miles from there. If we move our people out now, I can have snipers set up at these rooftops and balconies across from the consulate's main gate."

"Are you sure you can pull this off?" Kyle, the head of the Houston field office, said. "I think we're taking a large risk tactically by placing such an emphasis on the immediate area. I'm thinking about a bigger deployment in this industrial area south of the freeway."  
"I'm pretty sure, Kyle," Alex said, "I've specialized in environments like this when I was in Iraq. The long driveway up to the consulate gate is still American soil and the bus will have to slow down around there, it will be easy for my men to get off clean shots."  
Kyle squeezed his colleagues shoulder. "If we pull this off, this operation will be studied at the academy for years. Not to mention a promotion for both of us."  
Alex smiled and looked at his handgun. "New York City."

HOBBY AIRPORT

Suz Novick looked at Richard weird following the portion of the conversation he had overheard. She went into the employees' lounge then came back out, calling for him.  
"Hey Richard, I need to call my friend Gretchen. We have to discuss issues regarding our flight to Oakland, if it happens. Can I borrow your phone cause mine's out of batteries?"  
Richard looked at her suspiciously but was obviously trying to hide it. "I thought that's at least 6 hours away."  
"Judging from the way the protests are, a general strike may result in an entire runway shutdown. There's a possibility the National Guard could be called here."  
"Dammit, fine," Richard said, not quite understanding what he was agreeing to.

Suz walked into the employees' lounge and immediately dialed the last number on Richard's phone.  
"Yes, Richard?" a Chinese-accented voice asked.  
"Who is this?" Suz asked.  
"This is the phone of Richard Heller, is it not?" the voice asked again, the Chinese accent very evident now.  
Richard was almost down the hallway when he suddenly turned around, then began running toward the lounge.  
Suz went to a laptop computer set up in the lounge and typed in the phone number, not expecting to find anything useful, but then the Google page came with the top result "Consulate of China, Houston. Consular Affairs."

Suddenly, Richard's hand swiped the computer away from her, the machine shattering in a shower of sparks against the wall. Suz gasped and screamed briefly.  
"What the hell were you doing?" Richard yelled in her face.  
"I…." Then a look of realization and horror swept over Suz's face. "You were helping the Chinese the whole time, calling them. You….you helped them kill Sheila, didn't you?"  
Richard slapped her hard three times on the cheek and grabbed her blonde hair, swinging her against the wall, Suz painfully scraping her arm on the coffeemaker in the pantry section of the lounge.

"Why?" she demanded through the pain and shock.  
"Because it's the right thing to do, but then you probably won't ever understand that."  
"You even had me suspecting my father and the CIA for just a bit," Suz began. "The right thing? I also thought you were helping Sunbelt's employees." she snarled. "You are one sick…"  
"You know your father is a criminal," Richard said, "And Heller too. Everything Omar said about Heller when he was put on trial is true. This isn't just about you, or this freaking airline. I help China take over your company, I destroy your father, and I help make the world a better place."

"A better place, by murdering my best friend, putting these people out of work, helping foreigners take over…"  
"The world is a mess," Richard said, "And it's a friggin mess because America is the only superpower. That's gotta change. With China having more influence, there will be more justice, and peace, and fairness."  
"You're delusional, Richard," Suz said.  
Richard grabbed her and prepared to attack her again, but Suz snatched the coffeemaker and slammed it against his head, then took the hot coffee and splashed it all over him, Richard screaming in pain. Then Suz picked up the chair and struck him on the head. She held her injured arm and ran out of the lounge, taking out her cell phone.

CHINESE EMBASSY, LONDON

Wu stood before Jack Bauer after shocking him three times with electricity.  
"Now is the time we see how much the American government really cares about you, Mr. Bauer," Wu said, throwing a cell phone to Jack Bauer. "I have dialed the number for you already for your President. He will tell you where things stand," he finished with a chuckle.  
"Mr. President," Jack said.  
"Jack, I'll take it the Chinese haven't told you anything yet," Heller said, "They say they will grant you and your father full pardons for the death of Koo Yin and the Chinese soldiers you killed during your prison break if my administration agrees to stand by while Air China takes over Sunbelt Airlines."  
Jack squinted, and felt his stomach curling up.  
"Sir, you know I always put the best interest of this country before my own, but I don't think we have a choice here."  
"Please continue."

"While the loss of American jobs and the precedence this sets for future foreign takeovers of American businesses…."  
"Including the biotech, aerospace, and defense sectors," Heller began.  
"Yes, those too. But I'm assuring you, under no concern for my own freedom from the Chinese, that myself and my father are the only ones who can find the neutron bomb in time."  
"Jack, this is National Security Advisor McDaniels," Jeremy cut in from Houston as well, "Are you saying the lead you and your father are following is the only one?"  
"Sir, we are the only ones who have infiltrated Celtic Cross and gained a decent amount of trust from their leader Frankie McCourt, who is a very paranoid and secretive man."  
"Jack, you'll have to give me a few minutes."

"Mr. President, I hate to be the one to say this, but perhaps its better to simply let the Chinese have Jack Bauer," Nate Williams said.  
Novick shot out at him, "Of all the ridiculous things you've said today, you're really blowing it. Jack Bauer is probably the greatest American hero in our lifetime. He was responsible for stopping the Cordelia virus, exposing Logan's conspiracy, and defeating Marwan, Saunders, and Bierko."

"With all due respect, Mr. Vice President," Williams said, "That's in the past. This is now. As we all know Jack is a good soldier, and a good patriot. It will be difficult for the Chinese to break information out of him. In contrast," he continued, ignoring Mike's hand signal for him to stop, "Once we allow China to gain control of Sunbelt, they will go for more sensitive businesses and international courts will likely rule in their favor."  
"We don't know that for sure," Heller said, "But we do know that if we don't free Jack and his father now, we'll lose any chance we have of finding McCourt's bomb."

"THAT's something we're not sure of," Pete said heatedly, "I think we ought to put American interests first. I don't know too much about Jack Bauer, I admit it, but as for the bomb, McCourt is not like Marwan. He won't detonate it on the spot. The British will have to make concessions to the fringe groups, but that's better than America's secret going to China, which they no doubt will pass on to North Korea, Iran, Syria, and the rest of that list."  
"Anyone have anything else?" Heller asked.  
"Actually I do," Press Secretary Johnston said, "As we're all aware, the neutron bomb theat will not be given to the press, and we will have to hold a press conference sooner or later. There's no way we can convince the American public we were justified in just standing by while a Communist government takes over one of America's high profile companies. And with the protest going on, we can be looking at the shutdown of the entire transport infrastructure on a national level."

"Sir," Williams said, "The political fallout will be devastating, and in a race as close as this one, we can't afford that. And before you ask, everything has been tried to give China a deal under the table, but they're not playing ball, and it's pretty clear they won't start to in the few hours before the deadline passes and the deal is signed."  
"Mike, I need a minute alone with you," the President said.

The two men went into a private room and went beside a window overlooking the turquoise blue pool and the modern skyline.  
"Mike, I know I shouldn't be thinking like this as President, but Jack may be Audrey's last chance at a happy family life, and I know it's not fair to you and your daughter. We've been friends for over twenty years, I love Suz almost as much as I love Audrey, and no matter what the press says, I do care about those people at Sunbelt. Sometimes you're in this position you don't really have a choice. You think you do, but you don't. The Chinese outmaneuvered us this time, I can't deny that."  
Mike nodded. "My daughter doesn't know about the bomb. I can tell her, and she'll probably understand, but I was just at the employees lounge, I met one of her coworkers, single mom, two kids. Twelve hours from now, she'll probably be standing on a street corner downtown or looking for help wanted ads at Burger King." He paused for a long time. "But we can't all win."

"So you think we should agree to China?"  
"Jim, this is not just about Britain. If we let these people send their messages through terror and become powerless to stop them, it won't end, and we know that, we've seen it. One day, these people will be back on our shores, attacking our women and children on our own streets. Not the Irish groups specifically, but their allies too, more people like Bierko and Marwan. We're here to serve this country, no matter what people think or what the polls say. I believe in doing the only thing that's right, and we need to find this bomb, now. Every minute that passes the trail grows further for Jack and CTU."  
Heller nodded and dialed the Chinese number. "God forgive me."

Chase finally got through to Vassily in ten minutes, but the FBI didn't tell Chase about the snipers. The bus was down passing along the wide boulevards of central Houston.  
"My name is Chase Edmunds, I'm with the Counter Terrorist Unit, currently working with United States Secret Service," Chase said into the phone.  
"I've made my demands very clear," Vassily replied in his Russian accent.  
"I know that," Chase said, "And I need your help."  
"My help? Are you joking with me?" he demanded impatiently, waving his gun at the passengers while the driver drove through the deserted business district.  
"We've been in contact with Russian intelligence, and we know you are working for the Chinese. I give you my word, all we want is to implicate China in this matter. I will discuss the matter of giving you full immunity with President Heller as well as giving you the option of returning to Russia unimpeded."

"Heller will never help us. It was his own son, Richard. He was helping the Chinese and he hired us…"  
There was a sudden shot and bullets whizzed into the bus, striking both Vassily and Ilya in the head. Vassily's body fell against the driver and the bus crashed into the lobby of an office building, glass shattering everywhere.

Richard Heller loaded his gun and got into his car, sweating profusely. He used the GPS on his car and typed in "Marriott Renaissance Hotel Greenway Plaza" and the route into downtown lit up.

…..9AM (BRITISH TIME)


	19. Episode 18

EPISODE 18

EPISODE 18

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 9AM AND 10AM BRITISH TIME (3AM TO 4AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

CHINESE EMBASSY, LONDON

Jack pocketed the cell phone the Chinese had given him. "Come on, Mr. President," he pleaded to the soundproof room. The Chinese guards were not even watching him anymore. They knew this room was completely secure and there was no escaping unless they let him out. Through the glass, he saw the Chinese untie Clyde.  
Wu came with a victorious smile on his face and opened the door. "You are free to go," he said, "But your President has paid a heavy price for your freedom."  
"Your government is built on blackmail and corruption," Jack said, looking him in the eye, "Now you've just impeded a major international anti-terrorism investigation. If anything happens here in England today that could have been prevented, you have blood on your hands."

Wu reached into Jack's pocket and grabbed the phone. "Still trying to steal our intelligence, eh, Mr. Bauer? Still haven't learned yet. You should soon enough."  
Wu led them out into a hallway filled with light, then opened a side door, Jack and Clyde emerging on the street, where a light drizzle was still doing on.  
"Did you tell them anything?" Clyde asked?  
"Of course not. Are you okay?"  
"Yeah," Clyde said, "China is quite civilized compared to what I went through in Pakistan. Now I need to get in contact with McCourt."

"Jack," Chloe called from CTU, "We still have you on satellite."  
"We're continuing to follow our lead on Celtic Cross," Jack replied, "I'll get back to you as soon as we can. I hope that didn't set us back too much. One more thing."  
"What?"  
"Do you know how to operate the Carsolia virus from a CTU workstation using a cell phone memory chip?"  
"Jack, I've been doing stuff like that since I was in sixth grade, I'm surprised you would even ask that."  
"It may be our last shot at helping President Heller and beating the Chinese at their own game. I'll explain when I have the chance. Right now I need MI6 to send the CD with the virus to CTU."  
"OK, got it," Chloe said with a curious expression on her face.

HOUSTON  
"Houston FBI officials announced that their tactical teams were successful in killing both hostage takers on board the San Antonio to Biloxi, Mississippi, Greyhound bus with no casualties among the hostages," the news reporter said standing at the sight of the crashed bus in the office plaza.

Under the TV in the concourse of Hobby Airport, Suz was on the phone with Chase.  
"Yeah, it was Richard Heller, I swear. He attacked me and I saw his cell phone, he was calling the Chinese consulate."  
Chase turned his car around and the airport came into view.

LONDON STREETS

Jack and CTU listened on as Clyde made the phone connection with Frankie McCourt.  
"Clyde, where in blazes have you been? I'm been trying to reach you for more than an hour!" McCourt said gruffly.  
"Things came up, Frankie, remember I still have to be that good old MI6 agent fighting for dear old England," Clyde replied, "We ran into some trouble with the Chinese Embassy. My son has had some bad history with the Politburo, it seems."

"You told me including your son was worth the risk," McCourt said.  
"I know. He is an expert in operations like the one we are engaged in. The problem with China has been involved, with the Americans paying a heavy price."  
"Screw the Americans, I don't care about them one way or another. Ok, we meet in thirty minutes at my flat. Clyde, you will be coordinating the attacks, so be prepared."  
"I am."

CTU

"The trace is still being blocked," Chloe said, "McCourt must have insisted they use their own secure phones. He's taking every step to cover his tracks, and even now his men don't know the full range of targets."  
She turned around and saw Morris gone, then glanced toward Shari's seat and there he was, massaging her shoulder.  
Chloe slowly sat back down into her seat, her face red with anger, then she took out a Kleenex and wiped a tear that was falling from her eye and ruining her makeup.

"Jack, before we meet with McCourt, I've arranged for you to drop the chip you took from the Chinese phone to be transferred to us. We will be meeting with an MI6 agent by the name of Jane Saunders in Hyde Park," Clyde said.  
"What?" Jack asked, "I…I don't want to see her again."  
"She's the one I trust most, Jack, and she's close by. I know it's hard for you facing one of your victims, but it's bound to happen at some point, son."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."  
Jack thought about how he and his father looked, standing in front of the pubs, teahouses, and bookstores on this typical London street filled with locals taking their morning walk and foreign tourists snapping pictures inside the red phone booths that dotted Britain. At heart he was an American roughneck, born and bred on the gritty, rough and tumble streets of Los Angeles while his father was easily the suave British gentleman. Things have sure changed since his father ended up in England. Jack didn't know if Clyde had adopted Britain as his country. After all, it was MI6 who had sheltered him and given his new identity and checked up on him.

A split screen showed Cheng Zhi talking to Huang Jin and Kwan Ming at the Chinese Consulate in Houston, the Chinese acting very happy, Richard Heller speaking into a cell phone as he sped down a freeway with blurry lights flashing behind him, Frankie McCourt, and Celtic Cross terrorists getting out of a vehicle on another London streetside.

HOBBY AIRPORT, HOUSTON

Several protestors helped a large group of men over the perimeter fence at Houston Hobby airport while security was busy keeping order elsewhere on the tarmac.  
"You think the government will attack us?" the leader of the men asked, pretending to be other protestors.  
"Nah, man," the hippie-looking college student wearing a University of Texas shirt said, "This is the showdown of our generation, man. Those Sunbelt Express pilots blocked off the runway with those planes. There's no way that Nazi Heller's getting away with this that easily."  
"That's the spirit, man," the leader of the men said as they made their way through the crowd and toward an area marked as restricted to airport operations staff only, leading under the concourse.

"The schematics are there," Richard said to the man, "Just make sure Suz is silenced, at least for the next half hour. After that, it won't matter anymore. Go to my place in L.A., you can have all my stuff."  
"Dude, why you talking like that man, we still got a chance. This is the revolution, it's just beginning."  
"No, man, it's over for me. I'm doing this to protect you all. There's a bank account in LA as well, just go get the money and continue the fight. Just watch the news for me today."  
"Peace, Richard," the man said sadly as he opened up a sports bag, revealing several shotguns.

Chase used the flashing lights on his vehicle as he tore through the arrivals area of the airport, cutting across the employees parking lot and the massive air freight facility grounds, heading into a narrow service lane near the control tower, getting updates from Pierce about Suz's position.

HOUSTON, TEXAS

"Dad?" Richard said, feigning a scared voice. "I'm scared, I don't know…"  
"Calm down, son," the President said, reclining in his leather chair inside the hotel suite.  
"I think Agent Pierce and CTU are plotting against you."  
"C'mon, Richard, I'm in the middle of a crisis here, can you spare me your conspiracy theories for once?"  
"No, dad, I swear, I'm not making this up. Suz told me about this guy, Chase Edmunds, who works for CTU, and he's working for Pierce now…"  
"Yeah, I know about that. It's for security reasons regarding the airline deal."  
"Chase came in here and tried to accuse me of having something to do with the Chinese, dad, he called me a traitor and tried to torture me. He's at the airport right now."

Heller was silent. "Are you sure?"  
"Look dad, you have to believe me. You can look at your satellites if you want, Chase is here and I lost him for a while but he wants to talk to Suz, I think she's scared. You can't trust Agent Pierce or Edmunds."  
"Ok Richard, you know how to get here, right?"  
"Yeah, I'm on my way, dad."

Heller replaced the phone uneasily. There was not making sense. He decided that Richard must be having one of his delusional episodes. Better to have him there as soon as possible before things get really out of hand.

HYDE PARK, LONDON

The grey and brownstone buildings gave way to bucolic green as they sped into Hyde Park and pulled up at a majestic fence where Jane Saunders was waiting. The drizzling had ended now but it was still cloudy, and it was a depressing mood as Jack saw Jane approach from a walkway that wound itself around a pond filled with ducks and swans and lilly pads. Jack had never felt so alone in his life. He knew Audrey and Bill and Chloe were at CTU, but thousands of miles from home, in a foreign city, with yet another terrorist group and another threat, he didn't know how much of it he could take anymore.  
He got out of the car with Clyde and walked over to Jane.

"Jane," Jack said softly. He was conscious about how he looked now. When he had threatened to throw Jane Saunders into the Chandler Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles all those years ago and infect her with her father's virus, he actually took pride in how menacing he was, but now looking at Jane, a confident, capable MI6 agent fighting for the same cause as he, he felt guilty about the past. He never had a chance to apologize to her for what he had put her through. Deep down, Jack had a foreboding that he might not be able to prevent a catastrophe this time. He had been too lucky in the past too many times, and everyone's luck runs out sometime. He then thought about the promise he had made to Audrey, the thought of leaving this life behind. Sometimes moving on meant you had to face your past.

"Agent Bauer," Jane said with a nearly emotionless expression at first, jolting Jack out of his thoughts.  
"Jane, I've always wanted to talk to you about that day."  
"Talk?" she spat out with sudden emotion, "You tried to infect me like all those people at the hotel. I had nothing to do with what my father was planning. I didn't even know about it before you told me!" She was shaking now.

"Jane," Jack said softly, "I fought together with your father in Serbia and the Persian Gulf. I knew him well enough to know he wouldn't have let you die."  
"Knew that? Well that's very convincing, Jack. I had nightmares for years after that day, and I still do sometimes. You're the reason my life turned out the way it has."  
"I've taken even bigger risks in the field. You recall Chase Edmunds?"

She nodded.  
"He's now engaged to my daughter. Hours before I met you, I was undercover in Mexico with the people who smuggled in the virus from Ukraine, and to prove my loyalty I put a gun to Chase's head and pulled the trigger. The gun was unloaded. I knew Salazar would want Chase alive to question him. I swear to God, I never intended to harm you."  
"But you did, Jack," Jane replied, holding back tears. "I was just an average college student, and after that day, everything changed. Right now I don't know who I am anymore. I'm not who I wanted to be. I'm not like you, Jack, now I found myself drawn into MI6, thinking it would help me understand what happened that day in Los Angeles."  
"I'm so sorry, Jane. Deep down, I know God won't forgive me for some of the things I've done." Jack wanted to, but couldn't, mention more about that day, about how he had to shoot Chapelle in the head, or about the other day when he sacrificed Paul Raines' life in exchange for Lee Jong's, or about having to go into hiding with Audrey and Kim believing he was dead. There was also the innocent people whose deaths unwittingly resulted from his actions, the guards at Salazar's prison, the bank manager where Evelyn had kept Logan's recording, the young woman he held hostage at the restaurant where Drazen was. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness."

I can't think like this, not now, Jack thought to himself. He had to concentrate on the mission. The promise to Audrey came back to him. So in a way, he HAD to look forward, he had to believe that in the end, he would win, and everything would be all right.  
"Here's the chip, just get it to CTU as quickly as you can. We have to go now."  
Clyde hugged Jane and then he and Jack got back into the CTU vehicle, which pulled back toward the city streets.

HOBBY AIRPORT, HOUSTON

"Suz!" Chase hollered, running down the concourse, which was mostly empty now.  
She turned around. "Agent Edmunds?"  
"Yeah," Chase replied.  
Suddenly, the air exploded around them as bullets flew in all directions.  
"Get down!" Chase yelled, pushing Suz to the ground and drawing his gun. He spotted six gunmen and shot one of them. He grabbed Suz hard and they slid across the slippery linoleum floor, spilling a bucket left by a janitor, causing two attackers to trip. The men were wearing the clothes typical of radical political left-wing activists, evidently part of Richard's gang.  
Chase took Suz and they went into a service corridor.

"You two, go through the outside, trap them in the loading area!" the leader ordered. Two of the armed activists rushed into a jetway and took a side exit.  
"Hey you, stop it!" a voice called.  
It was an armed air marshal, running over from the restroom area. The activists fired several shots at him. "Die you pig!" one of them shouted as spent cartridges littered the concourse floor.

Chase and Suz emerged below the main floor of the terminal in a baggage handling area where the conveyor system passed through between check-in and the outside runway. Chase saw the two gunmen enter from the outdoor side and fired several shots, the men taking cover.

Several police vehicles with flashing lights pulled out from the runway, approaching the airport terminal.

A split screen showed the police approaching the terminal building, Chase reloading his weapon and covering Suz Novick, Richard exiting the freeway with signs to the downtown Houston exits, Chloe looking at Morris with a hurt expression, and Jack and Clyde walking into McCourt's apartment building as armed terrorists watched from above.

"C'mon, we already killed three of you pigs out there, Agent Edmunds," the leader of the gunmen taunted, waving his gun in the air as his men entered the loading area under the conveyor belt leading to a baggage claim above.  
"Look at you guys, of course those wussy soldiers are all getting shot in Iraq!" another activist, wearing a doo rag and a Bob Marley weed smoking shirt, yelled, laughing wildly. "You can never defeat the real people of the world in a fair fight. Come on, agent boy, let's see whatcha got!"

"Suz, you know how to use one of these, right?" Chase whispered to her, handing her a Glock pistol.  
"It's been a long time," Suz said. She was trembling, and this wasn't the time to say that while her family often went on hunting trips, being the traditional Texans they were, she was always the exception. But she did go to the shooting range as a girl with her father and brothers.  
"I need you to draw them into the open, and shoot to kill if you can. Got it?"  
She nodded fearfully. "I think so."  
"Ok, let's go!"

Suz moved to the right and saw an attacker. In a split second, she raised the gun and fired, the bullet passing into the man's neck, blood spurting out like a fountain. She screamed and pulled the trigger again, shooting the man in the face. Chase moved to the left with double guns, firing six shots in quick succession. One gun was out of ammo but he whirled to the left as he saw two men approaching Suz. Suz shot one of them while the other was was taken down by Chase.

Chase nearly collided with the leader of the attackers as the last remaining henchman fired shots at Suz as she ran. Chase kicked the leader's shotgun out of his hand while a large shotgun blast blew a hole in the wall right next to Suz, plaster flying everywhere. Suz fired back but missed, the bullets hitting several suitcases. She crouched down and reloaded as the man swung in between two piles of luggage and fired two more shotgun blasts, clothes flying out of a suitcase and lights shattering. Suz popped out from behind some supplies and aimed at the man's chest, firing a single bullet through his heart, the man's gun discharging one last time before he collapsed, knocking several boxes over.

Richard's car was cleared by the Secret Service and pulled into the semi-circle private driveway past the valet parking area in front of the hotel's main entrance. Richard got out as Heller emerged below the chandeliers of the marble-covered lobby from the elevator. Richard's hand was on his gun.

Chase body slammed the man and broke his wrist, but the activist fought back. Chase then shot him in the hand and Suz came over with her gun as well, aiming it at his head.  
"Where is Richard Heller?" Chase demanded, pointing the gun at him too now.  
"I'm not telling you nothing, you murderer," the man said, coughing.  
Chase took his hand and broke two of the fingers, the man screaming in pain.  
"Go to hell…."  
Chase fired a bullet into the man's left shoulder, then his right leg.  
"You will tell me what I need to know…or…"

Several cops burst in and Chase flashed his CTU badge. "Back off!" he yelled, and the cops quickly obeyed.  
"Nobody's going to help you," Chase said, "Talk now, or I'll make the rest of your life as miserable as you are now."  
Chase aimed at the man's knee, and the radical finally caved.  
"He's going to the President's hotel, he's going to kill his father!"

"What?" Suz gasped as Chase quickly dialed Pierce's phone.

Two Secret Service agents stood between Heller and Richard, with Pierce several yards near the concierge desk, having arrived from the command post to update the President on the Greyhound hostage crisis. His phone rang with the emergency ring.  
"Yeah?"  
"Richard's going to assassinate the President!" Chase yelled.  
It took a couple seconds for it to sink in, then Pierce looked at the middle of the lobby and saw Richard approaching with his hand in his pocket.  
"Mr. President! Take cover! Richard…." He screamed, running over.

Richard Heller pulled out two weapons, firing at the Secret Service agents.  
"Go to hell, dad! You're everything that's wrong with this friggin country!" he screamed as he shot the first agent in the chest, the man slumping to the ground. Richard then pressed his gun against the other agent in a surprise move and pulled the trigger, the bullet passing through the man's heart and traveling across the lobby until it reached the elevator door, creating a bullethole in it.

Pierce took out his Glock and aimed it at Richard. Richard's eyes met Pierce's as his right hand turned to fire, his left hand still aiming the other gun at Heller, who charged at his son.  
Pierce was nearly to Heller then Richard's guns discharged again.  
"Aaron, no!!" Heller screamed as Pierce was shot three times, though he managed to wound Richard in the side.

Three agents arrived from the rotating doors at the valet parking area and fired on Richard from behind, bullets hitting his back and leg as he slumped to the ground, coughing up blood.  
"Mr. President, are you alright?" one of them asked as they surrounded the shaking Heller.  
"Richard?" Heller gasped, at a sudden loss for words. He was trembling as he saw the agents who had killed his son approach the body, and noticed the bullet hole that appeared in his suit, then at Aaron.  
"Aaron!" Heller said, grabbing onto the veteran agent's hand, feeling his weakening pulse as his life slowly drained away from his body. "C'mon, Aaron, stay with me!"  
Aaron's phone was ringing, but he couldn't answer. Paramedics were rushing into the lobby, but it was too late for Pierce. "Sir, I'm sorry I didn't warn you earlier," he said softly, coughing up blood.

"You saved my life, Aaron," Heller said, not even able to think about his son right now.  
"My wife, my son, just do me a favor, Mr. President, and…"  
"I'll do that, Aaron, I'll let them know how much of an honor it was to have a great American like you here with me."  
"Thank you, sir….the honor was…mine."  
"Aaron?? God, no," Heller said, sobbing softly in the middle of that lobby surrounded by paramedics and armed agents.  
"Sir, I'm sorry," one of the agents said, "Agent Chase Edmunds of CTU is on the line, its urgent."

Heller knew he had to be strong, for the sake of the country, for his daughter Audrey, but part of him knew his limits. "Get Mike Novick here," he said softly as he picked up the phone.  
"Mr. President, it's nice to hear your voice, sir," Edmunds said. "We just found out about the attack on you. I had to go rough on one of the terrorists…."  
"Terrorists at the airport?" Heller asked at once.  
"Yes, sir. In addition to Richard's attempt on your life, he sent six of his nutcase friends here, they tried to kill Vice President Novick's daughter. They are all dead now except for the leader, who provided me with the intel. And he was the one who hired the mercenaries to kill the Sunbelt Airlines attorney."  
"My God," Heller breathed. "I can't believe my son could do all this."  
"I'm sorry, Mr. President."

LONDON, ENGLAND

Frankie McCourt led Jack and Clyde into a high-tech room hidden inside his apartment in a windowless area and picked up his secure satellite phone.  
"Prime Minister Landsdowne," McCourt said, a split screen showing Landsdowne in his office at 10 Downing Street with the Union Jack and a green English garden in the window behind his oak desk and a sailing British ship model in front of him.  
"What do you need, Mr. McCourt?"  
"Since our last communications, there have been no indications of your intention to end the occupation of my people's homeland in Ulster."  
"These things take time, I've already convened a special session of Parliament and made the Queen aware of…."

"And while they debate things, I hope what happens in the next hour will help them come to the right decision."  
McCourt disconnected the phone.  
"That fool tries to act so tough," Jack said, "I've dealt with people like him before. He'll change soon enough."  
"Damn right," Clyde said, "That bulldog will become a little lapdog soon enough."  
McCourt smiled a wicked smile and typed commands into a keyboard and a map of southern and eastern England lit up. He manipulated his phone so the leaders of all of his terrorist teams throughout southern England could hear him.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to give the enemy a taste of what we are capable of."


	20. Episode 19

EPISODE 19

EPISODE 19

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 10AM AND 11AM BRITISH ISLES TIME (4AM AND 5AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

LONDON, ENGLAND

"This is it, son," Clyde said to Jack in front of McCourt, feigning excitement at the upcoming attacks.  
"Can't wait," Jack replied, "I'm as pumped up for this as I've been for anything."

Several other Celtic Cross members were in the room as Frankie McCourt brought up the electronic map with computerized symbols indicating the targets in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Norwich, a smaller city on the eastern coast of England.  
McCourt motioned for another terrorist to prepare the Camcorder as he got in front of a map of a united Ireland with slogans in both English and Gaelic in the background. "I want this delivered to BBC studios downtown minutes after the attacks take place, and for electronic versions to be delivered to Fox News Channel, CNN, al-Jazeera, in their respective countries as well as to the major agencies in Tokyo, Moscow, and Mexico City,"

"Yes, sir," the man replied, "We are ready to begin."  
"Soldiers, come gather," McCourt said, motioning for Jack, Clyde, and two of the terrorists.  
"People of the world," the terrorist leader began, "Today, we witness the culmination of four hundred years of struggle for the Irish nation. Generations ago, the imperialist, colonialist armies of Britannia swept through the sacred lands of Eire, decrecrating the graves of our ancestors and enslaving…"

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Paramedics from ambulances crowding the valet parking area of President Heller's hotel pulled sheets over the bodies of Richard Heller and Aaron Pierce as yellow tape was set up, the bodies of two dead Secret Service agents sprawled out as well on the marble floor of the lobby.  
"Mike," Heller said, extremely distraught, "You need to take control of things, if just for the next couple hours. I can't hold myself together right now, not with this, and the crisis still brewing in Europe."  
"I understand, sir," Novick said, walking toward a more secluded part of the lobby and calling Suz.  
"Kylie, baby, I'm so sorry about what you just went through," he said.  
She was sobbing uncontrollably. "It's all my fault, dad. I trusted Richard. He was helping the Chinese the whole time and he tried to kill me. Agent Edmunds saved my life, dad. I'm so thankful for him."

"He will be honored, Kylie," Novick replied, "We saved the President's life just in time. Richard killed three Secret Service agents, including Aaron Pierce, before other agents took him down."  
"My God, Pierce…"  
"Kylie, I'm going to head over to the airport right now, but there's something else, and I'm afraid it can't wait."  
"What is it, dad?" Suz asked, Chase comforting her as they stood in the airport concourse buzzing with police activity.  
"What I'm about to tell you is top secret information, so I need to know I can trust you with this."  
"It's okay, dad, you don't have to worry about it, I can keep a secret, especially for you."  
Novick took a deep breath as he heard this. This was the old Kylie coming back, his Kylie. He remembered her as a kid, with her cute blond curls and wearing sunflowers in her hair, playing hide and seek in their large suburban house. The eager little cutie listening to his tips on how to advertise the lemonade stand she and Sheila set up when they were 7 years old. It was just a shame it had to be right after she had nearly been murdered by radical terrorists dispatched by someone she thought was her friend.

"I promised you I will do my best to help the people at your airline, and that promise stands, but I need you to understand that our job will be significantly harder now."  
"Why?" she asked weakly.  
"The Chinese government arrested two of our most important federal agents in London earlier and forced Heller to agree to let the deal go through in exchange for their freedom."  
"Those people can't do that!" Suz nearly screamed, "This is America, we're tougher than that. Are these agents…"

"This is the sensitive part, Kylie. The agents are working undercover with a terrorist group from Northern Ireland who is in control of a neutron bomb that can kill every living soul within a twenty mile radius of central London. It will completely devastate the Olympic venues and kill at least 6 million people, more if the winds carry the radiation over the densely populated countryside southeast of the capital."  
Suz's voice cracked even more. "So it's over for us, isn't it?"  
"Not quite. One of the agents has a plan that's enabled us to try to manipulate events in the final hours of the negotiations. The thing is that this government can't be directly implicated in this, and I'll fill you in and you and the lawyer, Ingrams, will have to approach Southeast Airlines with it. It's the only chance either one of us has got."  
"Dad, I don't know, I'm…"  
"You're a people person, Kylie, remember that."

LONDON/CTU

McCourt continued to speak into the Camcorder. "…of the Irish Catholic leadership in Ulster signed a disgraceful peace accord with the government of Britain, legitimizing the occupation of our homeland, turning the blasphemy of the British crown and the English nation into truths, and attempting to put our the fires in our hearts for the day which our nation will be free. Those who signed Good Friday are traitors to the Irish nation, and those in Dublin who no longer take the cause of national unification, and to those countries around Europe and the world who have taken the side of the British aggressors, the guilt falls upon you as well, and you will pay a price for this…."

"We still haven't received contact from Jack," Chloe said.  
"If McCourt's as paranoia as everyone thinks he is," Bill replied, "He'll have his whole place checked for listening devices. Remember Victor Malinah last year? He's just an arms dealer and remember that place of his. I hope Jack and Clyde really have McCourt's trust."

Scenes of civilians in several locations in London are shown with terrorists looking at them as McCourt's voice continued, "…thought our struggle was dead, but the actions of others around the world who have had the courage to stand up to the powerful forces whom oppress them and slaughter their wives and daughters, men like Victor Drazen, Habib Marwan, Syed Ali, and Vladimir Bierko have inspired us to act on our beliefs, and today we will overturn the centuries of occupation and pillage which has been inflicted upon the shores of Eire…"

Jack exchanged a nervous look with his father. He had dealt with people like McCourt before, and his man truly believed what he wanted to achieve was right. A normal person would be chilled at how McCourt was so willing to massacre innocent women and children, but for years Jack Bauer had dealt with such people, and it no longer chilled him.

"…will continue until we are granted our freedom. Long Hail Eire," he concluded, then repeated the last three words in the Gaelic language.  
McCourt took a shot of Irish whiskey and turned back to the map.  
"We will hit seven targets simultaneously," he said, "Our people are already in place at the convention center in Birmingham, the ferry terminal in Norwich, the movie theater in Manchester, and our four London targets."

He pointed to a subway station, the landmark Victoria Station, an underground shopping arcade near the Thames River, and a large high-rise apartment building in the Docklands area.  
"Our man in Norwich will be releasing the anthrax on board the ferry en route to Antwerp (Belgium), spreading the virus into Continental Europe to punish NATO and the European Union for their alliance with Britain. We expect victims as far away as Germany and Portugal by the time its contained. The attacks on British soil will no doubt devastate this country."

"These targets?" a terrorist asked, "What about the Olympics. I told you we had a man inside the athletes village with the Irish delegation."  
"The detonation of six bombs in three British cities and the release of weaponized virus on the European mainland will be devastating enough," he said, "I chose to forgo the risks of attacking a hard target like the Olympics, but the media attention will be the same."

"So what's our assignment?" Clyde asked.  
"First off, of course, to alert us if MI6 or CTU get any wind of what our targets are. Second, you and Jack will be going to Victoria Station. The train timetables there are not always kept, and you are to provide intelligence to our men on the ground on the nature of the crowd so they can maximize casualties in the attack."  
Clyde nodded. "We won't let you down, Frankie."  
McCourt smiled, "And if there happen to be any large groups of….children, young people, you know, make sure our people are aware of it. The greater the damage to England, the more we can toast to. Besides, I think that man Landsdowne needs our help in convincing him to think right."  
Jack managed to hide his shock at McCourt's bloodcurling orders to specifically look for children to target. He had not previously seen the true level of depravity some terrorists can have after all, it seems. While McCourt was still giving Britain a chance to surrender to his demands before he sets off the neutron bomb, what Jack had just witnessed was as monstrous as anything Jack had seen in all his years of CTU. "Ok, I think we ought to move out now if we're to get there on time."  
"Yes, and Jack!" McCourt said, beaming. "It's great to have you on board."

MIAMI, FLORIDA-SOUTHEAST AIRLINES HEADQUARTERS

"Mr. Strattner," the young personal secretary said, walking into the room where the Cliff Strattner, the President and CEO of Southeast Airlines, was resting on his large futon in his office next to his large plasma TV. It had been a long night for both of them as the negotiations in Houston had dragged on and on.  
"Yeah, Maria?" Strattner asked. He had finally decided to get some rest after the exhausting legal battles and bidding involved in his company's bid for Sunbelt Airlines.  
"I have Ingrams, the lawyer for Sunbelt, requesting a teleconference with you later this morning, as well as Suz Novick."

"Suz Novick, the Vice President's daughter? Might as well send her dad."  
Strattner actually didn't back any political party and donated to the Republicans just because some of their proposed policies were friendlier to the airline industry, such as favoring discount air routes to connect major Texan cities rather than spend the money on rail travel. If Amtrak's Acela high-speed line between Washington, D.C. and Boston was introduced to additional parts of the country, Stratner would basically be screwed.  
"They said its sensitive, and that President Novick, excuse me, yeah, he's acting in Heller's place temporarily following an attempt on Heller's life…."  
"What?" Strattner demanded, suddenly jolted awake and turning on his large TV.  
"….Richard Heller was the lone gunmen in the attempted assassination of President Heller in Houston…"

CTU  
"Okay, Ray," Chloe said, "While we provide intel for Jack and Clyde, you and your team's job is to recreate a full cell phone using this memory chip so it appears authentically from the Chinese Embassy, the security guy, Wu, in particular."  
She turned to Morris, trying to pretend she didn't see his advances toward Shari. "Remember that timing is critical. We need to release the virus into the Chinese servers at exactly the right moment."

"Chloe," Bill asked, walking over. Chloe quickly closed the window on her screen and hoped that Morris and Ray did the same quickly enough. "What are you working on?"  
"Setting up the satellite for the trace in central London," Chloe replied.  
"I know that expression on your face, Chloe," Bill said. He walked over and looked at the screen. "What the hell is this?"  
Chloe sighed. "Me, Morris, and Ray are planning to interfere with the Sunbelt Airlines deal by launching a limited, controlled release of Abu Jahah's virus against the Chinese government. We can't let them get away with their devious blackmailing with Jack and Clyde."  
Bill shook his head. "Do you know the diplomatic fallout this will cause?"  
"The point is to deflect blame so they don't blame us, that's why we're making it seem one of their own people was responsible for it. Remember that as far as they know, we never caught Abu Jahah in Paris."  
"Fine," Bill said, "But if anything goes wrong, you're taking the fall for it, and Jack's mission remains a priority."  
"Got it," Chloe replied, then said to herself, "Could have been a lot worse."

LONDON, ENGLAND

Jack took out his secure satellite phone to CTU as he and Clyde got into a Land Rover, driving out of the courtyard of McCourt's brick apartment building into the bustling streets of the city. The sun was breaking through the clouds now and a blue sky was appearing above them. Jack was still not used to driving on the left side of the road and endured a few honks from angry cars before he settled into the unusually swift London traffic.  
"Jack, nice to hear from you again," Bill said from CTU, sitting in his office overlooking the operations center floor where he caught a glimpse of Morris trying to flirt with Shari again and Chloe looking in their direction, looking upset.  
"Bill, McCourt just gave me and Clyde a list of targets, and he wants us to personally scout out one of them for him. Are you ready?"  
"Yeah, let me put you on speakerphone. You're now here with Audrey, Shari, Morris, Chloe, and Ray."  
"Ray?"  
"Raymond Payne, an analyst from the Indianapolis branch. One of the few not from Los Angeles, but he's proven himself quite capable throughout the day." When CTU Headquarters in Washington sent its best people to Europe for the Olympics, that of course meant the Los Angeles office cause that was the one that had to deal with the biggest crises and resolved nearly all of them. Even the offices in New York and Chicago didn't come close.  
"Ok," Jack said, "We have a seven targets. All of the anthrax is going to be released on the ferry from Norwich outbound to Antwerp, Belgium…."

10 DOWNING STREET / CTU-EUROPE

Bill was in teleconference with President Mike Novick and Prime Minister Landsdowne. Mike thanked God that this was taking place on British soil and Landsdowne had the final call. He had been there when Logan had to give the order allowing Chechen terrorists to release Sentox into the Sunrise Hills Mall, and as corrupt as Logan was, he did care about American lives and did not want the gas released.  
"What's your assessment?" Landsdowne asked.

Bill also thought about the decision Lynn McGill had to make. "Sir, we don't really have a choice. We have teams in place in the vicinity of all of the targets except for Norwich and Manchester, but if stop all of the attacks, McCourt will know that Celtic Cross's security is compromised, he'll panic, and there is a good chance he will order the immediate detonation of the bomb, and we will not know where the bomb is. Ray and Shari have worked up scenarios for the attacks."  
"Go on," Mike said.  
Shari began, "Our projections predit at least 6000 deaths from the anthrax attack if the ferry is allowed to dock in Belgium, the highest projections for any attack. The pandemic will make its way throughout Western Europe."  
"It's evident we are not going to let that happen," Landsdowne said.  
"I agree," Mike replied. "Continue, Shari."  
"The movie theater will be crowded this morning as the first showtimes are 10:30 and 10:45, and expect large crowds of children there since the new Pixar film is only in its second weekend…."

Jack rode on in silence as Clyde navigated the narrow, twisting urban streets. He dreaded what he might have to do. In LA, he just couldn't get himself to help Bierko's men kill those shoppers at the mall, and now this was in a much larger scale.  
"I know what you're thinking, Jack," Clyde said, "But you shouldn't lose sight of the picture, and that is securing the neutron bomb. If that goes off, everyone is dead anyway."  
"It's the Prime Minister's decision," Jack added, not saying that deep down he knew he couldn't follow an order like that, even if it was the only logical thing to do. Since when did it became logical that innocent civilians should be allowed to die? Around him was a world Jack could recognize less and less now, even for someone who served in the military and several terrorist crises.

"We have twenty minutes before the attacks begin," Bill said, "We need to come up with a solution by then."  
"Mr. Buchanan, we can alert the Belgians about the ferry and stop two of the attacks on British soil, and McCourt might be convinced there's no mole, but any more than that we're pushing our luck. I've been with him for years, and he WILL launch the main attack and there won't be anything we can do to stop him by then."  
"Thanks," Bill asid, "I'll get back to you."

VICTORIA STATION, LONDON

Clyde got on his cell phone and placed a call to a person who appeared to be a businessman walking with three colleagues through the interior of the historic building as screens for train arrivals and departures from all over Britain flashed around them. It was Jake, Benny, and Patrick.  
"Gladys?" Clyde asked.  
"Yes, my position is in boarding area for the express line to Stratford-on-Avon, the coffeeshop."

"Are the trains on time?" Clyde asked.  
Gladys looked at the timetable, which indicated the services from Stratford, Luton, and Surrey were all delayed due to the inclement weather earlier. In addition, Martin overheard a railway employee tell a tourist that delays were also being caused by increased security checks following the night of terrorist attacks in France. In the background, a TV in the coffeeshop showed footage from the French airliner crashes and the raid at CAT headquarters and mug shots of Faisal Hassan.  
"No, there have been delays, but the Underground is busier than usual and there are the tour buses pulling up as always."  
"Keep an eye on things," Jack said, "We'll keep you posted."

Clyde motioned for Jack to follow him into a mixed residential and commercial building facing the station, and he showed his MI6 badge to get into the elevator, emerging on the top floor, a tastefully decorated hallway lined with oil canvas paintings and Victorian style furniture with rooms made with oak doors and a royal blue carpet. The two agents then went up a stairwell, emerging on the roof, from where they could see all of Victoria Station and the rumble of railroad lines converging at Britain's busiest railway hub.  
"Dad, I don't know if I can do this," Jack said as Clyde used binoculars to scan the railroad in the distance, waiting for the inbound trains to come. They heard a low rumble and looked at the other direction of the tracks, toward the southeast rather than where the ones from central England would be arriving.

CTU

"We'll have accept some casualties," Bill sighed.  
"Is there no other choice?" President Novick asked. After Ivan Erwich attacks on the Sunrise Hills Mall less than a year ago, he could have sworn he wouldn't have to face this situation again. No, it wasn't in America this time, but Britain was this nation's greatest ally and any attack in the UK would be just as bad psychologically as one on U.S. soil.  
"The orders came from Landsdowne himself," Bill replied, glad the final decision wasn't here. "We're going to have the London police intercept the truck bombing at the Docklands apartment complex and Mornington Crescent station on the London Underground subway. In addition, the anthrax will be allowed to be released on the ferry."  
In his Houston hotel and at CTU, Novick and Bill looked at the map of the ferry departing from Norwich in eastern England bound for Belgium.  
"However, once the anthrax is released, we will alert the Belgian Navy to quarantine the vessel at sea, averting a general pandemic. With the French bombings, European authorities are jittery and McCourt will have accept the explanation of a Belgian inspection of the ferry coming across the anthrax spores.

Chloe furiously typed into her computer and brought up the WET list, looking up Gladys Stevenson's profile. She began uploading it to Jack's PDA, including Glady's long history of kidnapping and murder in his Northern Irish homeland.  
"Jack hasn't been in contact in the past ten minutes," Ray said.  
Chloe looked at him with an impatient look and said, "Maybe cause McCourt's probably monitoring all communications between his teams, ever thought of that?"  
"Right, Chloe, my bad. Just been a long day, I'm not thinking right."  
"Well, get some coffee and start thinking right or we can call in someone else to do your job," Chloe snapped.  
"Jeez," Ray whispered and got back to work.

"Gladys," Jack replied, "We have a change in the situation. We believe you should launch the attack now, at the most crowded section of the train station, because…."  
"What!" Clyde exclaimed, interrupting Jack.  
Jack excused himself and turned to his father.  
"Dad, I know what I'm doing. This is the only way to minimize casualties?"  
"By attacking right now, oh, cause you think better to kill the people in the concourse now and spare more people on the trains?? When CTU finds out…"  
"You're not thinking hard enough, dad," Jack whispered, then got on the phone, silencing Clyde.  
"Sorry about that. Gladys, launch the attack on the station or the bus terminal now and escape. There is a freight train loaded with dangerous chemicals approaching from the southeast. With its pace, it will reach the station and be passing the Luton train the moment the attack occurs. You won't be able to get out of it alive."

CTU  
"Yeah, I got it. Its in freight service carrying manufactured chemicals from Germany, crossed the Channel before the British government ordered the shutdown, and its bypassing London en route to the Midlands and Liverpool," Shari said.  
"Any luck patching us through to the conductor via the British railways system?"  
"We're trying…"  
"Stop!" Chloe said, "We need to let the train proceed. Jack just messaged me."  
"What? That's insane!" Bill exclaimed, "There's phosgene, chlorine, and other highly explosive chemicals, over sixty rail cars full of them, its gonna destroy at least a seven block radius, and with the type of housing the firestorm will be devastating."

VICTORIA STATION, LONDON

"Yes, I got that," McCourt said to Jake Francis. "As much as I would like for it to happen, I agree with Jack Bauer's assessment. Its more important that you get out of there alive. After all, the real strike is yet to happen."  
Jake conveyed the news to his friends.  
Gladys stepped forward. "No, Jake, we will destroy that freight train, and half this city."  
Jake Francis froze. Gladys, also one of his uncle's favorite men, was standing up to him for the first time, and Benny and Patrick stepped forward as well.  
"I gave you an order. Uncle Frankie gave you an order!"

Gladys nearly pressed his face against Jake, revealing the Irish whiskey in his breath and whispered, "Your uncle does not need us alive to carry out his plan. But when the neutron bomb blows up, he will be the great Irish hero. What about us, Frankie? For all I've done for the struggle, I deserve to be remember for a great act of devotion to our nation and our religion."  
Jake couldn't believe he was hearing this. "Celtic Cross isn't any one man, you know that. Every Catholic Irishman from Ulster who follows the faith and believes in our homeland give our names to the fight."  
"I'm warning you, Jake, get out and flee now if you want, but there is nothing you can do to stop us."  
Split screen show Jack and Clyde on top of the building overlooking Victoria Station with apprehensive expression on their faces, Clyde arguing with Bill at CTU, Jake running away from the other terrorists, and a computerized map of the Belgium-bound ferry route.

….11AM


	21. Episode 20

EPISODE 20

EPISODE 20

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 11AM AND 12PM BRITISH ISLES TIME (5AM AND 6AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

CTU-EUROPE (LONDON)

"Jack says not to warn the freight train until he notifies us," Shari said, looking at the message Jack sent to her computer screen via his PDA, since Frankie McCourt was monitoring all cell-phone conversations from his high-tech bunker in London, which was shown in a splitscreen.  
"What if Jack doesn' have a chance to??" Ray asked, causing Chloe to give him an unpleasant, disdainful look.  
"Jack never fails, Ray," Chloe replied.

"What are the casualty estimates if the train is attacked?"Bill asked.  
Shari answered, "Its carrying large amounts of chlorine, phosphoric acid, and phosgene, all of which are extremely explosive and/or toxic. The explosion could trigger a firestorm that can spread ten blocks away. It will destroy all of Victoria Station and all of the buildings around it, which include commericial, government, and residential."  
"Ok, folks, keep me posted," Bill said.

Bill then walked into a private room, where Audrey was sitting alone with her hands on her face. Her face was wet with tears and the smearing of her makeup.

"Audrey, I'm so sorry about what happened," Bill said, "None of us would have expected your brother to be capable of such things."  
She nodded. "I know, Bill. Sometimes I just don't know what this world is coming to. Maybe I'm starting to understand people like McCourt, Marwan, and Bierko, but Richard?"

Bill patted her on the shoulder.  
"I should have been more careful," Audrey said, "To think of it there were signs all along, and I should have made Dad more aware of it, how Richard continued to hang out with those psycho friends of his in their little liberation movement."  
"It's over now, Audrey, your father's alive, that's all that matters. Soon, we will have control of the neutron bomb, this will all be over, and I'll treat you and Jack to box seats at the basketball gold medal game."

Audrey smiled through her tears as she thought of Jack and the possibility of them being together again for good. It was more shock than grief, what she felt about Richard. Richard had never considered himself part of the Heller family and had espoused his hatred for Audrey after she had sided with Jack during his interrogation during the day of her kidnapping.

"I'm just so worried about Dad, he's been through so much in the past couple years. He's changed so much and he's not the same person he used to me. It really tears me up inside to see what all this has done to him."  
"I know, Audrey, it's the reality of the world we live in these days. You should talk to your father, make sure he takes control of the country as soon as possible. Mike Novick's a good man and a great advisor, but he's never had to make hard decisions on his own before. Very soon news of these coming attacks will reach the American public, and we need President Heller there to steer the people through these times."  
"I know, Bill, I'll see what I can do."

LONDON

A split screen showed Jack and Clyde observing the jumble of railroad tracks leading through the city around Victoria Station, Gladys, Benny, and Patrick walking through the concourse, McCourt in his operations center, and President Heller sitting in his hotel room with a forlorn expression on his face, then in another split screen Audrey places a call to her father.

"Gladys, Frankie gave us direct orders. You are to hold your position and attack the trains inbound from Luton and Sheffield as well if there's one," Jack said.  
"You're just a newcomer, you're not going to tell me what to do."  
"Gladys, Frankie placed me in charge here, and I am relaying his orders to you."  
"Go to hell, Jack," Gladys spat into his phone, "If Frankie's going to go down in history as the father of united Ireland, I'm not just going to melt into the background, not after everything I've done for him and for our cause."

McCourt's voice boomed into Clyde and Jack's phones.  
"Stop them," McCourt said, "We need Jake and both of you alive, you're too valuable. We can't let that motherless, opportunistic egotist ruin everything we've planned for."  
"We'll take care of it, Frankie," Clyde replied.

Jack placed a call to CTU. "Chloe, Bill, stop the train now."

The engineer of the freight train looked puzzled when he got the call but did as he was told.  
"This is Southland Railways, inbound Cologne to Manchester, we copy."  
"Just sit tight, it's a precaution," Bill said, "We believe there is a threat to Victoria Station and with the Olympics and everything in France…"  
"Ok, chap, I know," the conductor said as he pulled on the brakes, the chemical laden train rumbling to a halt.

"What's Jack doing?" Chloe replied.

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL SUITE, HOUSTON

"Dad," Audrey said, "Remember what you told me about being strong, being able to carry on no matter what? That day when Marwan's men kidnapped us in LA?"  
"Yeah, Audrey, but its just…my son, my disowned son coming to kill me, killing one of my best friends and two other brave agents…"  
"I know, dad, but its time for you to follow your own advice. That's what got us through our kidnapping, and Logan's conspiracy, and all the tough times we've had over the years."

"Thanks, sweetie, but I just don't know how much more I can take. Everything that's happened in LA is one thing, but, my God, watching Richard, my own flesh and blood, take out those guns, look straight into my eyes and try to kill me, after he tried to kill Mike's daughter and how he helped China…"

"Dad," Audrey said, "I'm as hurt and shocked as you are over this, but we can't afford to let what Richard did compromise you, me, or this country anymore. We are still in the middle of two crises, and America needs your reassurance. We have an imminent attack on British soil, the Chinese are coming closer to acquiring Sunbelt Airlines and driving all those people out of work and creating a dangerous precedent, and…"  
"Audrey, I don't know…"  
"You can do it, dad," Audrey said in a strong tone. "If you sit by and let Mike Novick take over for you in the greatest crisis the world has ever seen, you let Richard win! He wanted to destroy you, to weaken this country, to help the enemies of the American people grow stronger, and guess what? He's winning!"

LONDON STREETS

"Gladys, you're right," Jack said. "All my life I've fought for people, never got credit for anything."  
"Oh, good to hear that, Jack Bauer," Gladys replied in his thick Irish accent.  
"The train is stopped for some reason half a kilometer from the station property. If you want to know anything more, I want something in return."  
"What?" Gladys and Benny both asked eagerly.  
"I want my name to be known as one of the people who helped you with this. I want to be remembered by our Irish brethren for helping win our nation's freedom."  
"Done. And what about Jake Francis?"  
"Don't worry about that coward."

"Jack, what the hell?" McCourt cursed into the phone.  
"Shut up, Frankie. Gladys is right. We're not gonna let you take credit for everything," Clyde replied, sensing Jack's ploy.  
McCourt cursed and threw the phone halfway across the room, shattering a computer monitor.  
"How are our other targets doing?"

A split screen showed a ferry boat sailing in the ocean, the exterior of a movie theater, CTU, and a truck on a street with McCourt's men keeping watch around it.

"Gladys, there's an overpass, a quarter mile from the south gate of the station, if you have the rockets, its an easy range, but it means we have to martyr ourselves."  
"I will do it with pleasure," Gladys said, "We are not sissies. If the Lebanese and Chechens are up to it, so are we."  
"Long hail Eire," Benny added.

Jack motioned for Clyde to follow him and the two raced back to the elevator, going downstairs and running across the lobby. A split screen showed them running along a busy London street, attracting glances, the terrorists from Victoria Station exiting the building and pointing to the roadway bridge, a scene at Hobby Airport with Sunbelt and Air China planes on the same tarmac, and President Heller walking back into the makeshift situation room in Texas.

MIAMI, FLORIDA / HOUSTON, TEXAS

Cliff Strattner, the owner and CEO of Southeast Airlines, got some coffee from his coffeemaker set amid a tastefully designed office overlooking the pinkish and white condos that dotted the shores of Miami's Biscayne Bay, where the sun was beginning to rise on the eastern horizon.

"Suz Novick?" he said into the phone.  
"Yeah, we need a special videoconference within the hour as our attorneys mentioned to your secretary."  
"Yeah, you know what this is about? Maria told me its sensitive."  
"We will have to proceed with caution, and the President cannot be implicated in this, but my father does not want Sunbelt to be taken up by Air China. I think there might be a way for us to help each other, but I need your assurances that before we make further plans, everything stays between us."

CTU  
"Okay, the three terrorists from Victoria Station are exiting, Jake Francis is heading away from the station, wait, he's turning around toward jack and Clyde's position. Jack and Clyde are converging toward the bridge where the terrorists are heading!" Ray said.  
"I see what Jack's plan is," Bill said, "But he's taking too much of a risk."

Bill turned to the rest of the staff and asked, "Any updates on the other ones we're preventing?"  
In a split screen, McCourt orders the terrorist in Manchester to activate his bomb, and the terrorist, an ordinary-looking, clean shaven Irishman, glanced at crowds of elementary school aged children as his fingers pressed down on a detonator and an explosion tore through the movie theater, sending people flying and setting cars and plants on fire.  
McCourt spoke to another terrorist on another line. "Your turn."

LONDON

Jack and Clyde saw the three terrorists approaching the bridge from the other end, and Jake Francis rushing toward them, far off.  
Jake suddenly stepped into the traffic, causing a green sedan to stop, the young female driver honking.  
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" she yelled.  
Jake pulled out his silenced pistol and fired a shot, which hit her cheek since she began to turn her head in surprise. Jake then opened the door, grabbed the woman and shot her in the head, leaving her bloody body as onlookers watched in horror. Jake went into her car, grabbed the blood-stained steering wheel and sped toward Jack and Clyde.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Gladys asked in surprise.  
Jack raised his gun. "I tricked you Gladys, you fool! You tried to jeopardize McCourt's mission!"  
Gladys pulled out his gun. "You bloody…."  
Jack fired a shot into Glady's heart, the man falling over dead. Jake pulled up in the car and aimed at Jack, but saw Jack aiming at Benny and Patrick. Clyde took out a second gun and hid behind a bread delivery truck, its driver getting caught in the crossfire and killed by Benny.

Patrick took the missile out of his suitcase and aimed it at the train while Jack tackled him.  
"You're McCourt's lapdog, Jack, sucking up to him cause you're the new chap!" Patrick snarled in rage. "I've been waiting for this day all my life and you're not taking this glory away from me!"  
He kicked Jack in the groin but Jack twisted his arm as Patrick brought the missile up to fire from the bridge.

Benny saw Jake and fired at him, but Jake lowered himself as he slid out the door, bullets striking the driver's seat window, sending shards all over the street. A parked car caught fire as Clyde shot out its gas tank, igniting Benny as well. Jake then got up and shot Benny multiple times. Patrick's fingers reached the launch button on the missile but Jack turned the launcher away from the train, the missile leaving a trail of white smoke as it rushed skyward.  
"Dammit!" Jack cursed. "Jesus Christ."  
"Frankie, we got them," Clyde said, "That was just a ploy."

McCourt breathed in relief. "Should have trusted you, old chap. Good work."  
"Frankie, we need to break radio contact for a moment, I need to explain things to my English friends at Mi6 as well as their American CTU friends."  
"Understood. The other attacks are going smoothly so far, no interference yet."

"Chloe," Jack radioed, "We have a missile in the air, a Zircon surface to surface missile, its heading northeast."  
Chloe typed furiouisly into her keyboard. A screen showed the Zircon as a missile developed by the British military two years ago.  
"Ok, range is 20 miles, still airborne. Jack, open up the wiring in the launcher, we're looking for…."  
"What are you doing, Chloe?" Bill asked. "What did jack say?"  
"She's trying to help him reprogram a missile launch that's out of control," Shari replied for her and Chloe gave her a quick but heartfelt thanks.

"Jesus, this is not good," Shari said, "At current trajectory, the missile is headed for the Forum Hotel on Cromwell Street near Kensington Gardens, 26-story building, packed with tourists."  
"Jack, you need to access the control panel and type in the override commands, we have two minutes before the missile reaches its target."  
Jack tore open the high-tech device. "Ok, its not programmed yet, that was a random launch."  
"Ok, the commands for the override, first enter star, Y, 099…"

CTU was scrambling at this point.  
Audrey Raines shouted over to Ray.  
"Ray, give us an update on the situation in Manchester."  
She then returned to her phone. "Yes, I need to speak with the Belgian navy commander out of Antwerp, its urgent."

"C'mon, c'mon," Jack said as he tried multiple commands until one finally worked. He had twenty seconds left before the missile zeroed in on its target.  
"Ok, we can bring down the missile in the Thames two miles west," Chloe said, "Coordinates are…"  
Jack typed into the commands and saw the missile change direction. The camera panned to an aerial view of the missile headed for the Forum Hotel then make a wide turn. The missile splashed down in the river, sending a huge splash that splashed down on cars and pedestrians on a bridge and diners at a riverfront café.

CTU

"Yes, Commander Collier," Audrey said into the phone to Belgium, "We believe weapons grade anthrax was just released on the last ferry out of Norwich inbound to Antwerp. You need to have a bioterrorism emergency response team and quarantine the ship at sea and keep all other vessels out of the immediate area."  
"Jesus, Ms. Raines, are the same people who attacked Paris responsible for this."  
"It's a Northern Irish fringe group allied with jihadist elements, that's all we know right now. So far we do not believe there is a direct threat to your country, but do you have those resources at your disposal?"  
"Yes, of course, I'm given the orders to dispatch the ships already."  
"Also, the President believes a precautionary curfew in the more violent neighborhoods in Antwerp and Brussels, but the call is yours. Keep me posted. Thanks!"

HOUSTON

"Mr. President," Mike Novick said with relief, "Nice to have you back. I wouldn't mind being the shortest lived Chief Executive in our nation's history. You holding up?"  
"Yeah," Heller said, weakened but still the fighter he's been all his life. "I'm proud of my Audrey. She was there for me. I can't ask for anything more in a daughter." He then got to business. "Any updates?"

"Yes, sir," Peter Ricardo-Sanchez said, "Jack and Clyde are still undercover with Celtic Cross and McCourt's struck multiple targets across Britain in the past ten minutes."  
"What?"  
"Prime Minister Landsdowne decided if we intercepted all the attacks, McCourt will suspect something and immediately detonate the neutron bomb, but Jack managed to prevent a major catastrophe at Victoria Station and a police team intercepted a truck bomb at a high-rise London apartment. However the anthrax was released on board the English Channel ferry though Belgian naval forces are quarantining the vessel at sea as we speak and medications will be provided to the passengers. Most are expected to survive."

"Good, now what's the bad news?" Heller knew Landsdowne had been forced into an impossible decision. Audrey had told him about Logan's quandary regarding the Chechens' release of Sentox at the Sunrise Hills Mall in Los Angeles, and this was worse.

Peter replied, "The terrorists managed to detonate powerful vehicular bombs at a convention center and movie theater in Manchester and Birmingham, we're looking at upwards of 400 dead so far, and casualties are still mounting from two attacks in downtown London."  
"My God. Are we any closer to the bomb?"  
"Jack will be checking in as soon as he can, sir."

"There is another problem, Mr. President," Nate Williams said. "I need to speak with you in private."  
The two men went into a corner of a room and Nate whispered, "Mike Novick is going behind your back in intervening in the Sunbelt deal."  
"He was actin President in my absence," Heller said, showing signs of annoyances.  
"He is using illegal and corrupt means to make sure the China deal falls through so…"  
"And were you here when the Chinese conspired with my son to murder Mike's daughter, to blackmail this terrorism investigation? When they murdered two American citizens less than twenty miles from where we are now?" Heller was angry now.  
"Mike should have told…"

"I will bring this up with him, but all day you have been at his throat, why? I don't know where you started your vendetta with him, but I'm not going to let it impact the efficiency of my administration like its done for the past year we've been in the White House."  
"Mr. President, with all due respect, I believe that if China…"  
"Mike Novick has been in politics since when you were still in Michigan interning for that discount law office," Heller said with disgust, "He knows how to handle things. And let me let you in on something, Nate. If I win this election, you will not be in my Cabinet. Now if I may, I have things to tend to."  
Nate stood alone in the corner like a little kid in time out, then his head slowly lowered as he slumped into a chair with a hopeless look on his face.

LONDON STREETS

Frankie McCourt's private helicopter landed inside a green park near Victoria Station and Jack and Clyde boarded it along with Jake Francis.  
"Excellent work, people," McCourt said as his pilot steered the plane to the south. They could see plumes of smoke rising from two locations in the city where the terrorists had successfully struck.  
"So have the British given in to our demands yet? Any communications from Landsdowne?"  
"None whatsoever. We are prepared to detonate the weapon within the next thirty hours, upon his response to the current attacks. In fact, we are undergoing final preparations in case things must end that way."

Jack dialed buttons on his phone so Chloe could hear the conversation from CTU.  
"Yes," McCourt said, "Right now we are going to secure the trigger for the bomb. Clyde, I trust you, that's why I need you here. It is times like these when mistakes happen."  
"I know what you mean."  
McCourt nodded. "Faisal Hassan and the Abbas brothers told me about Habib Marwan. His plan was impeccable, except a young boy in his cell couldn't get rid of his girlfriend and blew everything. I made sure everything was in control. Look, we're coming upon the location now."

CTU

"Ok, I've got the satellite zoomed in. its in Southwark, a theater district south of the Thames near the London Eye and the Millennium Dome."  
"Get me the address," Bill said, "Do we have any teams standing by?"

LONDON  
The helicopter hovered for a moment above a mass of brick mid-rise buildings and tree-lined streets in an artsy looking part of the city, then landed on the rooftop of a movie set made to resemble ancient India.  
Several of McCourt's terrorist force arrived in several vehicles and secured the area.

Jack saw a shadow of a young woman approach through an archway decorated with Hindu symbols, her dark hair mixing in with the artificially exotic surroundings.  
Her eyes met Jack's, but before either could speak, McCourt came forward to greet her.

"Nice to see you made it, Mandy."

…..12:00PM


	22. Episode 21

EPISODE 21

EPISODE 21

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 12PM AND 1PM BRITISH ISLES TIME (6AM AND 7AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

LONDON

Mandy instinctively drew her gun and said something into a mouthpiece, though it was inaudible for Jack.

"You lied to me, Frankie," Mandy said coldly.  
"What are you talking about?" McCourt demanded in shock.  
"You know well enough, and you better not lie to me, because I have snipers with guns trained on all of you right now. I know who Jack Bauer is, and you are setting me up." She cocked the gun.  
"I'm with Celtic Cross," Jack replied, "I re-discovered my roots in Ireland, like my father did, and we want nothing more than to win the freedom of our people."  
McCourt nodded. "Calm down, Mandy, these men saved my nephew's life earlier today, and our plan could not have gotten so far if Clyde here hasn't provided me inside information from MI6 and CTU.

Mandy lowered her gun and said, "I don't like this, but I'll take your word for it for now."  
McCourt glared into her dark eyes. "Look at me, Mandy, look at the expression in my face. Do I look like I am going to show the English any mercy in my war against them? I will slaughter this entire city if my demands are not met, and I will drink and toast as I watch the young children of England have their skin peel off as the radiation spreads. This is how much I love Ireland."

"Your passion for your cause is noted, Frankie," Mandy said as she nodded. "I have the trigger in a secure place, you gentlemen wait here." Mandy began to walk into the maze of the recreated Hindu shrine and holy city, passing two of her armed bodyguards.

Split screens show Mandy walking down an exterior corridor, a CTU chopper in the air, Jasper Mulligan in a control bunker, the eastern sky a bright orange against the city skyline of Houston, and Heller and his advisors gathered in a conference room.

CTU EUROPE/HOUSTON

"Mr. President," Bill said via teleconference to Heller in his hotel, "Jack Bauer is at the exchange point in London for the trigger mechanism, but we still don't have confirmation the device is there. But my assessment is to send the teams in now and secure the area. We have Frankie McCourt and Jake Francis, the leading members of Celtic Cross, there personally."

Heller paused and turned to his advisors.  
"Let's just wait until Jack contacts us with visual confirmation," Pete said, "We can't afford to screw this one up. We've already sacrificed greatly with the Sunbelt Airlines deal for this mission."

Bill cut in. "I understand your concerns, Pete, but…"

AIRBORNE OVER LONDON  
"Ok, This is Echo-Seven Niner, we're closing in on the target, ETA is five minutes," the pilot shouted over the noise of the blades as the commandos in the back made sure they are ready. "I need updates on the positioning of the hostiles."  
"I understand, we'll keep you posted," Bill said, "Fly a perimeter around the target area."

HINDU MOVIE SET, LONDON

"Frankie, we may have a potential problem," Jasper said in his cell phone.  
"Tell me," McCourt said, seemingly unfazed. Jack and Clyde looked at each other with a concerned expression.  
"We're monitoring air traffic in your vicinity and there is a chopper that's been circling in an even perimeter for the past three minutes. It's pattern is centered on the exchange site."  
"Dammit, Jasper, are you sure about this? What kind of helicopter?"  
"I'm certain, Frankie," Jasper said gravely, "Our observers on the ground say it's a news chopper for the traffic reports, but our people inside the networks say no such aircraft have been dispatched."  
"How could this have possibly happened?" McCourt said, distress mixed with outrage mixed in his voice. "Every precaution has been taken. I trust everyone who knows about what is taking place now."

Mandy came back with a suitcase and began to open it up as Jasper continued to speak.

"Gladys and Benny betrayed us, they wanted to usurp your position," Jasper reminded him.  
"They were fools but they are sons of Ireland and would not have comprised the final mission."  
"Perhaps Mandy was not as careful as you. She is on a dozen watch lists around the world and people may be tracking her. Whatever reason, I have people in place and we can order the shootdown of that chopper. It will give you enough time to leave the area, reprogram the mechanism and detonate the weapon when you choose."  
"Do it," McCourt said into the phone as he turned to Mandy and the bomb trigger.

LONDON  
Two terrorists opened the door to a penthouse apartment in the Southwark district and removed a shoulder launched missile from a crate. In a split screen, Mandy tells McCourt that he can inspect the engineering now to make sure everything is right.

The terrorists typed codes into the Stinger missile and aimed it, firing at the chopper.

"Dammit! We have a missile inbound!" the co-pilot exclaimed.  
"CTU, repeat, we have a missile inbound, it's coming straight at us!" the pilot said in a panicky voice. The heat-seeking missile honed in on its slow-moving target and the pilot tried to bring the helicopter toward a rooftop so the soldiers can jump to safety but it was too late. The warhead struck a direct hit and a giant explosion shallowed up the aircraft and shattered windows several blocks away, car alarms blaring and people screaming in the streets as the smoke billowed into the air.

Jack's PDA buzzed and he saw CTU's messasge: TAC TEAM DOWN. "Jesus Christ," he whispered as Clyde saw the message too.

CTU

"How the hell did this happen?" Bill demanded.  
"I don't know," Shari replied, "The terrorists must have been monitoring things better than we expected."  
"I want us to find out who, if anyone, leaked that info to the terrorists or if they had other means of discerning that, and I want it done now!"  
"Right away," Shari said and nodded.  
"Ray!" Bill called, "I need you to get our backup TAC team ready for deployment. How much time do we have?"

"I don't know," Chloe said, "The exchange probably wont' take that long. Jack will have to handle it himself, but it doesn't help to have a team in the air just in case."  
Bill sighed. "Ok, get that team up there, and I want to know where the missile was fired from. Audrey, coordinate things with MI6."  
"C'mon, Jack, it's all up to you now," Bill whispered to no one in particular. As if on cue, his phone rang with a text message.  
"What is it?" Audrey asked, then looked at the message.  
"My father's not going to like this," she said.

HOBBY AIRPORT, HOUSTON

"Look at those ignorant Americans," Air China CEO Huang Jin remarked as he and China's consul in Houston, Kwan Ming, got out of their limo in the middle of a tarmac lined with jets from their national airline. Air China flight attendants wearing Red uniforms and a Chinese military honor guard stood at attention and the soldiers saluted as the two men walked up some steps into the private jet that Huang flew into the U.S. on.

Huang faced the flight attendants and spoke to them. "To you, this may be only one small instance of the triumph of our nation, and our trends for our future, but keep in mind that the Great Wall was built brick by brick. Words cannot describe the honor and pride you and your uniforms, all of you, bring to the Chinese nation. As our Chairman Mao has said, East is Red, but may I add something that will make our Paramount Leader proud. East is Red, and East comes before West. The smear campaign of lies slandering our company, our government, and our entire nation launched by the Western and particularly American imperialist devils, cannot stop the divine forces carrying us to our destiny. As we celebrate today…"

"Will you look at that?" Molly, Suz's fellow Sunbelt flight attendant, asked her. "These people are standing on American soil, with their military…"  
"I know," Suz replied, "There's nothing we can do but pray."  
Suz Novick checked her PDA and her cell phone, then found a quiet place away from the crowd and began speaking.

HINDU SET, LONDON

"Frankie, let us go outside and pray," Clyde said, "My son knows how to program the trigger with his training."  
McCourt contemplated this for a long time and nodded. "Yes, it would only be fitting to praise God and the Irish saints we are acting in their names."  
"We need their guidance today," Clyde added before turning to Jack.  
"Can you handle this?" he asked.  
"Of course, I was in a WMD rapid response unit in Kuwait," Jack replied.  
"We will be back in five minutes," Frankie said. "Hope you live up to the faith your father has in you."  
"You can count on me, Frankie."

"Maybe you got McCourt fooled, but not me," Mandy said as they were left alone. "I've heard about what happened in Mexico with Nina Meyers and the Salazars. You will never turn against your country, Jack, or your country's allies, apparently."  
"You wasted that pardon Logan and Palmer gave you, Mandy," Jack said, not directly referring to her comment.

Mandy blinked in mock surprise. "I know, the smart thing to do was to take that pardon just disappear somewhere in the South Seas? Well I tried that, and obviously it didn't work out."  
"Ok, Mandy, I know you are drawn to your work and at this moment I can't afford to judge you right now, but you screwed up, you got caught with another high-profile terrorist leader, so its back to where we started. I need your help, and you need mine."  
"I'm listening."

"I know you're not completely heartless like Nina Meyers or Christopher Henderson, that you have a reason for doing what you're doing. CTU launched a joint operation with the local authorities in Cape Town involving some of your associates there, and it came to light you were upset that Marwan never told you about his nuclear plan. Look around you. Everyone in this city will die if McCourt detonates that bomb. Families, little kids. "

Mandy cringed a little. "This was a business transaction, and was pretty clear that with McCourt's threats, the British government will negotiate with him."  
"You can never be sure about that," Jack says, "In our line of work, its clear things always go wrong."  
"You're wasting my time here. You've got a proposal, let's hear it before McCourt gets back."

Jack took a deep breath and said, "The CTU assault team on its way here was shot down by McCourt's fighters and I need you and your people's help in securing the trigger and capturing McCourt. President Heller has already e-mailed you an official pardon for all of your crimes since the previous pardon. In addition, the U.S. government will compensate you in full plus interest for all finances seized from you in the past ten years, and CTU will the foreign connections I mentioned to push for the unfreezing of your two accounts in Cape Town."

She nodded. "That money's the only reason I got back into the business anyway. I wasn't going to just go home and spend the rest of my life waiting tables or scanning groceries. I want to make sure Heller's documents are authentic."  
Jack nodded. "You're doing the right thing. I know it might sound new to you, but you're saving a lot of lives today."

HOBBY AIRPORT

"…always looking ahead at our future," Kwan Ming continued his speech, which had followed Huang Jin's.  
"Long Live the Premier Chang! Long Live the Communist Revolution!" the soldiers and Air China flight attendants shouted, then broke into the Chinese national anthem as Huang and Kwan walked up some stairs into the spacious cabin of Huang's private jet, exhaling at the air conditioning.

"I am not typically one to celebrate things in advance," Kwang Ming said, "But today I think we deserve this luxury."  
Huang Jin beamed, patted a small model of an Air China plane, and replied, "We do indeed."

HINDU SET, LONDON

"Oh, Jack, is the trigger remote ready?" McCourt asked as he and Clyde walked back into the courtyard of the Indian shrine.

Clyde elbowed McCourt in the stomach and drew his gun, the terrorist's eyes flashing with rage at the realization of what was happening. McCourt raised his gun but missed and Jack drew his sidearm, firing several shots but the terrorist rolled over several times on the ground, taking aim again.

"We need McCourt alive!" Clyde shouted. A bullet hit him and he fell against a wall, falling to the ground. Suddenly, three Irish terrorists burst into the area but gunfire ran out from a balcony across the courtyard as two of Mandy's men took up a position and shot at the terrorists.  
"Dad!" Jack shouted, bullets whizzing by. He turned and saw a terrorist coming and squeezed off a burst with an AK-47 he picked up from the ground, the man's head exploding in a shower fountain of blood as his brains splattered on the wall behind him. Another terrorist burst through a door and Jack fired a long burst into his chest, the man collapsing into a widening pool of blood. Clyde was couching and clutching his chest.  
"Yeah, thank God for the Kevlar, just got the wind knocked out of me."

More terrorists poured into the courtyard and two were cut down by machine gun fire by Mandy's gun crew on the balcony, who were shouting to each other in a language he didn't recognize. A Celtic Cross fighter got a lucky shot and one of the gunners tumbled down from the balcony, landing face down on the cement floor.

McCourt ran through the narrow alleyways of this recreated Hindu town, squeezing off several bursts at Mandy's mercenaries. He spoke frantically into a cell phone but was drowned out by more shooting and a grenade exploding.

Split screens show McCourt, Jack, and Mandy in the alleyways and open air markets, two vans filled with Celtic Cross militants dropping off more gunmen and a mercenary preparing a rocket launcher.

Several terrorist crouched behind a van fired automatic weapons in the direction of Jack, Clyde, and Mandy, who whirled around. Mandy glimpsed two terrorists coming from an alley to her left and quickly sqeezed off a round, mowing them down in a row. Clyde drew his pistol and fired wildly at the van, and a body dropped to the pavement. A split screen showed the two terrorists speaking frantically in Gaelic and Irish-accented English, one of them reloading while the other one tossing a grenade.

Jack took over behind a market stall, the flames spreading quickly.  
"Come on!" Mandy shouted, firing at more terrorists approaching from above. Clyde killed another attacker as Jack charged through the flames, his pants on fire but jumping quickly into the village well with a splash.

McCourt exhausted two gun clips and reloaded again, seeing a masked mercenary running toward the archway to cut off his escape. McCourt's trigger finger was quicker and shot the man through the right eye, and he reached one of the cars.

A rocket from above hit the van the terrorists were hiding behind and the explosion lifted it ten feet into the air, sending it crashing through part of the village set. More gunshots rang out and Jack saw one of McCourt's wounded men, still firing. Jack quickly aimed at the man's head and squeezed off two shots with his pistol. "Go to hell."  
Several yards away, Mandy was lying on the ground.

CTU  
"I think McCourt got away during the fight," Jack said.  
Bill turned to Chloe and asked, "Do the satellite feeds show any vehicles leaving the movie set?"  
"Yeah, just one, it's this blue Mitsubishi, its heading south now."  
"Ok, keep tracking it."  
"Bill, MI6's drone just took out the terrorist outpost that fired on the CTU chopper, local airspace is clear," Audrey said from her workstation.  
"Ok, send our backup team over there and leave some space for Jack and Clyde."

HINDU SET, LONDON

"Mandy!" Jack called out, then saw her on the ground in pain with some blood. He rushed over and inspected where she had been shot.  
She moaned as Jack lifted her shirt and saw the wound.  
"CTU, we need paramedics here now, Mandy's been shot!" Clyde said frantically into his phone.  
"It's ok, Mandy," Jack said, "The bullet missed your vital organs."  
Mandy grunted in pain. "You gave me your word, don't forget that, Jack."  
"I know. Just hang in there. Help is on the way."  
"I'll make it, don't worry," she said.  
"I'm sure you will," Jack told her, "And thank you for saving my life."

Jack returned to talking to CTU. "Now McCourt's going to try to get to the location of the bomb and detonate it manually, we need to find him before he does."

LONDON STREETS/CTU EUROPE  
The Mitsubishi pulled into an underground parking garage and McCourt got out, running through the well-lit space and emerging in an elevator lobby, where he quickly pressed the button for Parking Level 1.

"Ok, I want London police at both entrances of the garage, and we need to find whatever vehicles leave from there," Bill said.

A split screen shows Audrey looking relieved at Jack's survival of the gun battle in the movie set, President Heller receiving updates, the Chinese celebrating on board their plane, and McCourt walking through a pedestrian walkway.

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL SUITE, HOUSTON

"Sir, I know how critical the current mission is," Pete said, "But the situation here in Houston has taken a turn for the worse."  
Heller sighed. "How much worse can this day get anyway?"

"I just got a call from Governor Richards urging you to call the National Guard into Hobby Airport to disperse these protestors. Several right-wing groups have pelted the Chinese soldiers there with rocks and the Chinese consul told me that their troops will use live ammo if they feel threatened further. At the same time, there's mounting pressure to open up the runways for the morning's first flights. Suz Novick's flight is scheduled to depart three hours from now, but United Express's morning service to San Antonio departs at 8AM and the media are saying this is a test of whether the rule of law will prevail today. So far all runway are blocked by the protestors which are gaining strength as local residents show up to support the employees."

"Pete, like I said, Mike's handling it under the radar."  
"But we don't have time, sir. The media, domestic as well as international, are saying you're impotent, and with the trading on Wall Street beginning in an hour, what happens here can have far reaching consequences here and in the world."  
"And what would they rather see?" Heller said with intense frustration. "Those networks, except Fox maybe, are pushing for a bloodbath. Now imagine the entire nation, the entire world, watching as soldiers in body armor fire tear gas at pretty young flight attendants! Who are only trying to keep their jobs!"

"We can only hope and pray that things don't get out of hand, sir," Pete said. "But I'm telling you, if order is not maintained, it reflects not only your incompetence but that of our institutions in general. We're looking at the very least a complete shutdown of all air routes in the nation's midsection…."

LONDON, ENGLAND

We finally see McCourt in another parking garage, get into a car, and drive away.

……1 PM BRITSH TIME


	23. Episode 22

EPISODE 22

EPISODE 22

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 1PM AND 2PM BRITISH ISLES TIME (7AM AND 8AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

LONDON  
Jack ran through the cloud of dust churned up by the landing CTU helicopter as an ambulance with flashing lights rushed into the Indian movie set and a split screen showed Audrey at CTU, Jack boarding the chopper, McCourt driving away in a Lexus sedan, and parademics putting Mandy onto a stretcher and inspecting her gunshot wound.

PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, HOUSTON

"How can we lose him like that?" Heller demanded in his teleconference with Buchanan at CTU-Europe.  
"If you ask me, this is a CTU tradition, like Marwan, and Erwich, and Bierko…" Nate Williams commented, but everyone else ignored him.

"Sir, there's a good chance the situation is salvageable. We've seen McCourt flee into a building and MI6 agents are there as we speak."

LONDON STREETS

An MI6 tac team set up positions and roadblocks two blocks from the brick mid-rise building where McCourt had disappeared into a garage. The teams burst into the garage with weapons drawn and scanned the area, but it was empty.

CTU  
"Ok, I got it," Audrey said, "The building is Calverton House, a luxury condo. Chloe, I'm going to need the schematics for it now."  
"Yeah," Chloe said, typing furiously. "Damn! There's multiple underground passageways leading to three neighboring buildings all with garages, the shopping arcade, the office park, and another residential complex."  
"By this time McCourt's already gone through the perimeter," Bill said, shaking his head.

AIRBORNE OVER LONDON

"There has to be another way!" Jack shouted, on the verge of losing it. "Curtis Manning died today because of McCourt and his Iraqi allies."  
"I know, Jack."

CTU

"I think I got something," Audrey said.  
Everyone looked at her.  
"The manager at Calverton House just told me the garage door has to be remotely opened, so it means McCourt knew something inside, which makes sense given his choice of location for the bomb deal. Chloe, the list of tenants is on the way."

Chloe's computer flashed.  
"Cross reference it with lists of suspected Celtic Cross members as well as the Iraqi insurgent groups."  
"Nothing so far."  
"Expand the search parameters," Bill said.

HOBBY AIRPORT

The CNN reporter was speaking in a serious tone as the cameras set up around him. "…has come to a head here in Houston as 3,000 members of the Texas National Guard are arriving to clear demonstrators from the runway as airport operations begin today with the scheduled United Express morning shuttle to San Antonio.

Suz's boyfriend Jason Faulker embraced her in the Sunbelt Airlines employees lounge.  
"Thank God you're okay," Jason said, "I was so scared of losing you, after hearing the news."  
"I know, Jason, its ok."  
"So you're resigned to what's going to happen with China?" he asked.  
Given the circumstances, Suz's smile was surprising. "My dad and I still got something up our sleeves…"  
"Your DAD and you? I thought…."  
"If I told you now, I'll have to kill you."

In a split screen, lines of Humvees filled with Guardsmen in riot gear took the off-ramp for the Hobby Airport freeway exit while Heller paced around his hotel room with Novick.

"We should call Henry in Chicago, tell them to cancel the United flight to buy us some time," Laura Johnston the press secretary said. "Aren't their employees supporting the strike?"  
"Henry's different," Mike said, "He's warned them they will lose big time if that happens."

Pete pointed to maps of the military deployment. "The troops will be in position in twenty minutes and the…"

CTU

"Wait, this has to be it!" Audrey exclaimed.  
"What?" Everything was looking at her confident expression.  
"One of the condos is owned by a man named Vaughn Donahue, he's a British coast guard officer who's also the target of an internal affairs investigation for sympathizing with Celtic Cross."  
"Shari, get me everything you can on him, get in touch with MI6," Bill ordered, then asked Audrey to continue.

"I've already confirmed it with the local coast guard commander. Donahue's currently stationed on board the Fantasy Cruise Lines ship Utopia, sailing up the Thames River, as part of the Olympic security upgrades."  
"That checks out," Chloe said, "Its only five blocks from where the exchange took place."

THAMES RIVER, LONDON

"Jack, the plan is to rendezvous with the SAS special ops team who have a trained WMD expert!" Bill said as Jack's helicopter banked over the shining waters of the Thames and the gigantic cruise liner came into view. "We're sending the schematics of the ship over to you on your PDA, but we believe Donahue is on the bridge, and chances are he's the one with the bomb."

Vaughn Donahue spoke into his phone as he paced the upper deck of the ship past the large swimming pools and miniature golf courses.  
"Ok, I'll be ready," he said as he went into a crew only doorway and went down some stairs, walking through luxuriously decorated hallways before emerging into a control room. He pressed some buttons and a gangway opened up from the port side of the ship, where McCourt and several armed men were in a speedboat.

FANTASY UTOPIA

"Captain," the First Officer said, running onto the bridge, "We just got the port side gangway #3 dropped."  
"What? Who's controlling it?" the Captain demanded.  
"Its being activated from Control Room 2."  
"Stop the ship now," the Captain ordered.  
"Yes sir."  
The Captain then ordered his security team to go.  
Suddenly, shooting broke out and the door burst open with Donahue holding a security guard. He fired a single shot through the man's head and blood splattered onto the Captain, First Officer, and several crew members.

"I'm sorry, Captain, if I have not been completely forthcoming with you," Donahue said, then switched to his Irish accent. "The time for make-belief is over. Do you understand now?"  
The Captain shivered at hearing his Irish accent and watching the metallic coldness in his eyes, and remembered how he had just killed the guard in cold blood without a flinch.  
Several other guards came, but then were following Donahue's orders.  
"You….you were all with him?" the First Officer asked.  
"Money talks," one of them said in a foreign accent none of the ship's crew could recognize.  
Donahue held his automatic weapon to the Captain's back. "Get this ship moving, and don't close the gangway until I tell you to. Understand?"

More than a dozen armed terrorists rushed into the casino and a restaurant on opposite ends of the cruise ship, firing weapons into the air. In a split screen, Jack and several CTU and SAS members were boarding submersibles at a hidden indentation on the riverbed, hidden behind some boathouses.

"You will order your helicopters to turn back or we will execute the hostages!" Donahue said into the radio to CTU.

CTU  
Audrey and Chloe gasped at the sight of three dead bodies being tossed overboard from the ship and the security footage of young families being held at gunpoint by masked terrorists.  
"I said pull back!" Donahue snarled in his Irish accent. The terrorist reprogrammed the CCTV feed to the restaurant and the CTU staff saw the terrorists grab a waiter and shoot him five times in the chest. "You are running out of time, do you understand?" he demanded.

"We have confirmed nine extra hostiles boarding, and we believe Frankie McCourt and Jake Francis are among them," Shari said.

Underwater, the submersibles reached the lower deck, well below the waterline of the ship where the cargo hold and the cheapest staterooms were located.

"Alright Jack," Bill said, "You and Edwards, the WMD guy, will head straight for the bridge while Alpha and Charlie teams will secure the hostage areas and engage McCourt's men."  
"Copy, Bill."  
In CTU, Audrey was trembling. "Jack," she said, her voice a weak whisper now.  
"It's going to be okay, Audrey," Jack said, "I know what you're feeling right now, but in a couple minutes this will all be over."  
"Jack, just promise you'll be careful, just…if you find McCourt, this isn't some kind of vendetta."  
"Audrey, I promised I would come home with you, and I have every intention of living up to that promise."  
"Thank you, Jack."  
"I'll be careful, I swear. We will find this bomb, and then you and I are going to watch our children grow up together."

FANTASY UTOPIA

Satchel charges blew a hole in the bottom of the ship, allowing the teams to enter, which they did through a cargo area, taking off their wetsuits and heading for the elevators. Split screens show the hostage situation, several teams fighting with terrorists, and Jack going up the elevators toward the top decks.

Jack emerged into an elevator lobby while an assault team blew through the floor of the casino, silenced gunshots rining out and five terrorists quickly falling dead with no civilian losses. A hail of bullets greeted Jack and three other CTU agents as they emerged on the "Lido Deck" housing a tanning area, an indoor gallery, and the atrium. "Let's move!" Jack shouted.  
The men rushed toward the exit for the outside deck past the atrium, where several terrorists fired at them. Split screen showed the terrorists reloading and firing from several locations on the atrium and one of the preparing a grenade. An explosion tore open the floor behind Jack and two of the agents fell, one of them plunging to his death into the ground 8 floors below while the other hung on to some wreckage. He fired at a terrorist, killing him and sending him tumbling to the atrium bottom also, but another terrorist shot and killed him, his body hanging limp while he dropped his gun. With the hostage areas clear, the CTU helicopter came and fired three Hellfire missiles at the positions in the atrium where the terrorists were shooting from, vaporizing one of them and sending another running aflame while another CTU agent cut him down with rapid machine gun fire.

The CTU helicopter flew past panicking passengers on the sun deck, holding its fire. Several tourists dropped dead as three Irish terrorists opened fire on a CTU position. Jack shot the first three times, blood covering the man's chest as he fell into a pool, staining it red. Clyde squeezed off a round from his MP5, killing another man who was holding a young boy hostage.

By this time, only Jack, Clyde, and Edwards, the WMD expert, remained. Clyde kicked opened a door and was struck in his vest but fired quickly, shooting a terrorist in the face and neck.  
Both men checked the schematics on their PDAs and Clyde and Edwards ran forward toward Donahue's stateroom, adjacent to the bridge and the captain's quarters. They heard a grenade roll down the hallway and dived through several glass windows into the massage salon and fitness area, which was already deserted as an explosion tore behind them. Two other CTU agents came and a split screen showed the SAS teams engaged in fierce firefights.

"Jack, terrorists are approaching your position, just got word from SAS!" his father yelled. "Bauer," a voice crackled as if on cue, "We're taking heavy fire, my team's got four men down already!" It was the SAS Charlie team leader. "The terrorists are making another attack at the casino!"

"Edwards and I can handle it!" Clyde shouted as the screens split again, showing McCourt and Jake Francis firing their guns from above a railway in an indoor shopping arcade on the ship, a speedboat approaching the ship on the outside, terrorists firing a rocket at the helicopter, and Jack checking his position.

Clyde and Edwards burst through the door to Donahue's stateroom and Edwards secured the bomb while several gunmen burst in from both sides, Edwards going into a closet while Clyde killed two terrorists with shots to the heart and head. "Start defusing the bomb!" he shouted, "I'm heading for the bridge!"

Donahue whirled around a corner from inside the salon and fired, bullets striking Clyde's gun and knocking it away. Clyde took out a throwing knife and sent it flying into Donahue's throat, pinning the man against the wall. He then elbowed the terrorist in the face, smashing it into a bloody pulp and stabbed him in the heart with the knife.

Split screens show Audrey and Chloe at CTU, McCourt on the bridge looking at security camera footage of Donahue's death, Jack engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a Celtic Cross terrorist. The terrorist struck Jack with his gun, but Jack socked him in the stomach and shot him before pushing his body over a spiral staircase, the man screaming as he fell toward his death.

A terrorist guarding the bridge reloaded and Clyde took this chance to take him down with a shot to the head. He then burst through the door, where Jake Francis tackled him. Jake slashed Clyde on lower leg but Clyde brought up his knee into the man's shins, then gave him a spinning backward kick and slammed Jake's head into an instrument panel, sparks flying and the body shaking as Jake was electrocuted. Clyde finally reached the bridge and exchanged shots with another terrorist, the First Officer being shot in the crossfire before Clyde was able to fire an automatic round into the man's chest, shattering the glass all around him.

ABOVE THE THAMES

"We have another chopper inbound," Shari said from CTU, then radioed the pilot. "Identify yourself, chopper approaching the Fantasy Utopia, you are entering a restricted police and military activity area, please turn back on a course heading of 45 degrees southwest."

"It seems McCourt's sending men to reinforce them," Morris said.  
"Also observe the river traffic!" Bill reminded them.  
"Got it," Chloe replied, "But there are at least forty private vessels in the immediate area."

Split screens show CTU teams preparing to attack the approaching enemy chopper and then Clyde walked onto the main part of the bridge, overlooking the sun decks, swimming pools, and miniature golf park.

"You lied to me, Clyde!" Frankie McCourt said in rage as he grabbed the Captain by the neck and brandishing his Uzi submachine gun. "You were never part of us! You were undercover for MI6!"  
"You're the one who's lying, Frankie," Clyde replied, then said in Arabic. "I'm undercover, but not for MI6." Clyde then shot the Captain in the heart, also hitting McCourt in the leg, then fired another shot into McCourt's arm, causing him to drop the weapon, then rushed forward and kicked it away.

"You cheated us, promising you would detonate the bomb the moment you got it into London. We helped your organization become what it is, and you steal our bomb, so you can NEGOTIATE with it? I thought you had more faith. You were only using me and my brothers!"  
Clyde then pointed his pistol at McCourt's head. "Infidel," he spat before he pulled the trigger, McCourt's body undergoing a new spasms before becoming limp as brain matter splattered across the room.

"The helicopter has some kind of shielding!" a CTU agent screamed into the radio as a rocket struck near his position, killing two of his men.  
"They're landing on the bridge, at the sun deck!" Chloe yelled. Several terrorists poured out, and Jack saw them, except he heard them speaking in Iraqi and Lebanese Arabic. Suddenly, the chopper lifted off with two SAS and one MI6 aircraft in pursuit, flying over the tourist area of downtown London.

A CTU helicopter straffed the new terrorists the chopper had unloaded, mowing them down in a matter of seconds, though one man made it into the superstructure of the ship. Jack found him and saw he had a suicide bomb vest, and then Jack quickly discharged a shot straight through his right eye, the man tumbling down in a heap.

"CTU, this is Bauer, our last comms with Edwards said he was in the process of disarming the bomb, he had already cut some of the wiring! I'm going to get to him and my father!"

"Dad!" Jack yelled as he whirled around the empty corridors littered with dead bodies of terrorists, agents, and occasional ship staff members. He saw Edward's body with bullet wounds through the back. "Dad?? Dammit!"

ABOVE LONDON  
"We need to take out that chopper NOW!" Bucahanan shouted. In a split screen, Jane Saunders was working the phones with SAS Command in London and a Royal Air Force jet was flying at supersonic speeds across the city .

"Target is approaching the Houses of Parliament!" Chloe said as the satellite feeds centered on Trafalgar Square lifted above the ground to show a wider view of London."

The British jet's pilot squeezed the trigger and two missiles arched across the sky leaving a white trail. They both made direct hits on the chopper, a massive fireball erupting over the central city and wreckage falling toward the ground, most of it splashing into the Thames River.

THAMES RIVER, LONDON

Clyde was back in the submersible and got on a secure line with a man identified as Yaffa Abbas, the terrorist from France.

"We've fixed McCourt's treachery," Clyde said  
"It's about time," Yaffa replied in Arabic, standing over a window overlooking a red British phone booth, indicating he was on British soil. "The past few hours have been excruciating difficult for me."

"Allah has been testing us," Clyde replied. "Remember what Sheik Ravid told us in Pakistan. Allah tests His warriors because not all are worthy of striking the victory blow for the Dar-al-Islam. This victory must be clicnehd by true believers of unwavering faith, servants of God like ourselves who have devoted our lives to jihad and who have never doubted the will of Allah."

"The harder the struggle, the sweeter the fruits of Paradise," Yaffa said, his unease giving way to conviction. "Today, the infidels will pay for their occupation of the holy sands of Arabia, for spitting upon the soil of Islam, and waging war against the true followers of the Holy Koran. I will meet you in the rendezvous point."  
"Inshallah, brother." Clyde replied.  
"Inshallah. Allah Akbar."

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Nate Williams walked out of Heller's suite and through the elevator lobby of the 20th floor, going to his own suite overlooking the aquamarine swimming pool which was now basking in the morning sunshine below the smog of Houston.

He dialed a phone number, reaching a man named David Tapper.

"Tapper, its me. Our plan seems to be working."  
"You sound nervous, Nate," David Tapper said from inside a golf course in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Remember the work you've done for us will be rewarded by Yarnal. The Senator likes to reward his loyalists."  
"You better mean that, David."  
"Oh I do, Nate. If Mike Novick can switch his job between administrations so easily, nothing should stand in the way of a man like you."

Williams took out a voice altering device.  
"General Nakajima?" he said, inmitating James Heller's voice.  
A split screen showed a Texas National Guard General at a staging area in an office park just off Hobby Airport.  
"Yes, Mr. President?"  
"This has gone on far too long. Move in, break up this mess."  
"Yes, sir."

Split screens show General Nakajima giving orders to his armed men, tear gas being prepared while the lines of picketing flight attendants could be seen in the distance, Jack emerging into the bridge of the cruise ship, and the submersible pulling into a marina.

…..2PM


	24. Episode 23

EPISODE 23

EPISODE 23

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 2PM AND 3PM BRITISH ISLES TIME (8AM AND 9AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

FANTASY UTOPIA/CTU  
"The bomb is gone, and my father is gone!" Jack shouted over the sounds of the helicopter blades as he dashed past the swimming pool onto the sun deck of the ship. Suddenly, he felt his phone buzz and grabbed it. It was an unknown number.

"Chloe, I'm getting a call from an unknown number, I need to trace it."  
"It's registering here too, Jack," she replied, "But its scrambled. Its going to take some time. You need to keep whoever it is on the line…."

"Chloe," Shari called out, "We should try the new program introduced by Ballard Technologies? It's the most advanced out there and the terrorists won't suspect their lines aren't as secure as they thought."  
"Its not officially…"  
"Shari's right," Audrey said, "We don't have anything to lose, and our priority here is finding that bomb. Copyright and trade agreements can wait."

"Some trade agreements," Bill said, "Its 8AM local time in Texas, and we've had the staff at CTU-Houston called in early for the Air China-Sunbelt affairs. Ray, I want you to coordinate with them in case anything unexpected happens on this end. I can't impress upon you further how important our involvement in this must be kept secret. Morris, get the Davenport program ready now."

"This is Jack Bauer," Jack said into the phone.  
"I'm sorry, son. I never intended for you to get involved in all this," his father's voice said, and a split screen showed Clyde in a different boat leaving a marina on the Thames River.

"Dad?" Jack took some time to recover. "What the hell are you talking about?? What's going on?"  
"I did everything to protect you. Now is the time to get yourself and Audrey out of the city. The bomb will be detonated within the next two hours."

Jack was filled with a mix of rage, betrayal, and above all an emptiness that made him sick to his stomach. Of all the people he had trusted, not only was this the fourth to betray him, after Nina Meyers, Christopher Henderson, and Charles Logan, his father was the worst.

"Dad, who are you working for? What do you want? Who…."

"The phone's being traced to a location in the Middle East near Iran, hold on…." Audrey said as she pulled up the DOD satellite feed from over Iran and the Persian Gulf region.  
"Damn it, is the Iranian government…"  
"No, hold it Morris," Audrey said sharply in her tense mood. "Got it. The call's originating from a location in Oman."  
"Gotta be a switching mode," Bill said, thinking back to the Stephen Saunders day. "Zero in on the location and perform another trace from there outbound for calls ending in London."

A split screen showed SAS commandos realizing one of the submersibles was missing while Jack continued to talk on the phone.

"If CTU is trying to trace me, this is a secure line," Clyde said.  
"I know that, dad," Jack said, visibly pained to call him "dad" at this point. "Goddamm it!" Jack shouted, kicking a lawn chair set on the deck, smashing it. "Why the hell are you involved in this? What do you want??"

"I'm doing this for you, Jack, and Audrey, and all the people you care about."  
"You're sounding like Stephen Saunders, so don't give me that bull!"  
"I'm trying to make the world a better place. When I was in Pakistan, Sheik Ravid showed me how I had been used by the American government to commit the worst of atrocities. He showed me the true path of meaning in life, the path that will give me peace in eternity."

"That's it, dad. HUH?" Jack yelled, squeezing the phone so hard he thought it might break.

CTU

"Jesus!" Ray said, slamming his fist on the table. "Shari, make sure the program is continuing to run smoothly. A third of the calls originating from the Oman location are reaching two subsequent switching modes in Athens and Cairo."  
"I've got an idea," Shari said, "Look for patterns in the timing of those calls, we should be isolate them. These people are probably jamming the phone lines to divert suspicion from individual calls but if we can find the frequency of the activity from Oman something may stick out."  
"God, I hope you're right," Audrey said.

FANTASY UTOPIA

"Jack," Clyde said, "You were never meant to find out this way. None of this was supposed to happen."  
"That's not the point! You're going to murder eight million innocent people…."  
"It is justice, Jack. Justice for the blood shed by MY people, the Muslim people. For years I helped the crusaders and the Zionists rape the Muslim world, destroying entire families in Iraq…"

"Sheik Ravid, whoever he is, is USING you!" Jack screamed. "He was using you to get the bomb, to plan this operation!"  
"I believe in jihad, Jack," Clyde said, "As the Koran states, we are fighting in defense of Islam and today we will make the blood of infidels flow in rivers. Ravid showed me the truth, the only path to paradise. As the Koran says, my son, the path to Paradise lies in the sword of the martyrs."  
"Surely you don't believe that. You swore an oath to the United States of America, to defend our Constitution."

"My people is the Islamic umma now. Ravid cured my blindness and ignorance and made me see this. What we will accomplish today will only bring forward the inevitable Judgement Day. It is the will of Allah, praise be unto Him, that it be done. I have no further words, Jack. There is no way you can stop us. Get Audrey and yourself on the next helicopter out of the city, and when you return to America, I would advise you and Audrey to raise your new children someplace other than Los Angeles, somewhere more quiet. I hope that eventually you will understand this day. Don't try to avenge what happens today. This is OUR revenge, OUR quest for justice, for everything, and if you continue the aggression against our Muslim brothers, this will only be the beginning."  
He cut the line.

"Got it!" Morris said excitedly. "You're right, only two calls didn't match the timing profile, and the one to London is being isolated to a cell phone somewhere…in the river."  
"It means a boat, you idiot," Chloe said.

HOUSTON, TEXAS AND MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA  
"It's done," Nate Williams said from the hotel suite in Houston as he put whipped cream on the bagels provided by room service.  
"Very well. I will initiate the second part of our plan while you do whatever you can to make sure things remain under control down there," David Tapper said from Minnesota.  
"Yeah," Nate says nervously.  
"Like I said, this isn't time for cold feet. We're making sure Heller's presidency doesn't survive this day. Another surprise is coming three hours from now. Have CNN on."

Tapper then got out of his golf cart as it pulled next to the clubhouse and walked over to an outdoor dining area where a woman was eating breakfast. We only see her back.  
"How are you feeling today? Therapy still working?" he asked, massaing her shoulders.  
"Yeah, the Mayo Clinic was just as good as its reputation goes."  
"And you will feel better mentally as well after today."  
"I can't thank you enough for helping me believe in myself again," the woman said. "Mike Novick's finally going to be exposed for what he did to me."  
"And you get your old life, and your old position, back, with additional benefits, once Yarnal wins the election," David Tapper finished.  
The camera pans around to show the woman's face. It is Lynne Kresge.

HOBBY AIRPORT

"…behind me is the National Guard staging area at the auxiliary runway at William P. Hobby Airport where troops are preparing to engage the demonstrators…."  
"Hey, we made it clear this area's closed!" a National Guard major shouted, grabbing the equipment of the news crew as cameras flashed.

"General," the Major said, "We're in position, 500 yards from the main line of the protestors."  
"Give them warnings now, fire some canisters but don't hit them directly."  
"Yes, sir."

PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, HOUSTON

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Mike?" Heller asked.  
"Jim, I know what I'm doing. I need to be there with my daughter, especially at a time when she's involved in the most visible crisis in the nation today."  
With the news reports of the British bombings only trickling in, the domestic media had a heavy focus on the airline deal.  
"Besides," Mike added, "We both need to be there to assure the nation nothing's out of the ordinary, especially because of all the news from Europe. The fact that Britain was targeted by an Irish fringe group rather reassures the American public in a perverse sort of way, that it wasn't jihadist fanatics who hate us too."

Heller sighed. "Ok, make sure Pierce….God…." he paused, "Get Agent Bennett and make sure the motorcade route's secure, and update me on the airport situation. But Mike, I know you're doing something, you know, under the table, but I don't think its prudent for us to just go there and fly to California on board your daughter's flight."  
"Jim, Laura's already called the media and made sure they're set up in Oakland, and canceling out appearance in Oakland will alienate the Black Caucus and the Hispanic organizations even more, and we're at a point where every single vote counts."  
"Can't we fly there are our own plane, I mean, we're…"

"Sunbelt will not be taken by China, I will guarantee that does not happen. We only need to ensure the situation at Hobby Airport doesn't get out of control before our arrangements are complete. However these arrangements require something I haven't talked to you about, and I haven't mentioned in respect to our already heavy burden with the European terrorist attacks."

Heller put down his bottled water before drinking any of it. "What?"  
"If we choose to go through with this plan to save Sunbelt, I can't work with you anymore."  
"Jim, what is this? What are you talking about?" Heller burst out in shock, making wide hand motion at the skyscrapers popping through the smog outside the large hotel room windows.  
"Sir, I've done a lot of thinking, and this would have happened even without this Chinese business." He began to explain.

LONDON  
"Are you certain that's the location?" Jack demanded.  
"Positive," Chloe replied, "The submersible was abandoned at a dock on the south bank of the river and the suspects are in a boat."  
"Good, and Chloe, tell Bill to press Abu Jahah for more info on who my father might be working with."

CTU

Bill walked into a dark, grey holding room where Abu Jahah was sitting alone on the ground with bandages covering large portions of his body following Jack's torture on the pre-dawn CTU flight from Paris.  
"What do you want now?" Abu asked in an Arabic accent.  
"You really don't care about your family, do you?" Bill asked.  
"I told you everything I know about my contacts, about Mulligan and McCourt."  
"Really?" Bill sneered, "Like the bombings across England today, including the attack on a Pixar movie screening that killed over a hundred children under age fourteen??"  
Bill picked up and chair and broke it over the Iraqi's head, Abu screaming in pain. Bill then punched the terrorist in the chest and grabbed his hair, pulling on it.  
"I…I was not told of this, I swear to Allah in the name of the Sunni prophets! Why would they do this if they were going to destroy everything with the neutron bomb anyway??"  
"You're telling me McCourt didn't tell you about his plan to blackmail the British government…"  
"The plan was to get the bomb and destroy the city, that is all." He began mumbling an Islamic prayer in Arabic. "That is all I know. I love my wives and my children, I don't want Ramara to die here. If McCourt deviated from the plan, then our people inside Britain acted to get the bomb from him."

Bill paused, letting this sink in. Jack's father Clyde was the man Mesopotamia Jihad had inside MI6 and CTU. He nodded.  
"It appears that happened. Now who and where would your mole contact in London?"  
"Our fighters have many friends here, in the Muslim community. We are allied with Hezbollah factions, we have our own people too, mainly in High Wycombe and East End, especially Finsbury Park, there…"

"Abu Jahah, in addition to watching American soldiers die on the news every day in your pitiful country, I have lost several friends of mine today and watched you and your Celtic Cross friends murder the most defenseless of civilians, so if you hesitate one more time in your answers, you will regret it."

"I am telling you everything I know! There are bunkers under the Brixton and Finsbury mosque areas, and if there is an emergency in our operation, our people in High Wycombe will head to London. The population in Finsbury Park is loyal to Islam the bunkers, I don't know the exact locations, but there are bunkers under Finsbury Park, probably around the mosque, with weapons…machine guns, grenades, rockets, everything, everything our people have in Iraq. I…I can give you some names from High Wycombe, I worshipped in the mosque there last time I was in England, and Yaffa Abbas is believed to be here, I'm not sure."

A split screen showed the military forces deploying across the Hobby Airport runway, Lynne Kresge with a vengeful look on her face, Jack in the helicopter, Audrey and Chloe at CTU, and finally Abu Jahah writing down names.  
Bill nodded. He picked up a leg from the broken chair and jammed it into the terrorist's chest. "This is for Curtis Manning, one of my bravest men, who was killed in Baghdad by your friends," he said as Jahah leaned forward in pain. Bill then grabbed him by the collar. "And this is for everyone who died today." With that, he gave Jahah a huge sucker punch in the face, the terrorist dropping onto the floor.  
As Bill walked out of the holding room, the redshirt said, "Sorry, sir, I was too busy daydreaming to remember anything that happened."  
"You're forgiven," Bill said, patting him on the shoulder.

LONDON STREETS/CTU-EUROPE  
The CTU helicopter flew on a direct course toward the red van Clyde had gotten into and Jack and a gunner took aim.

Clyde was in the passenger seat with a terrorist named Iyad Kareem driving. Clyde opened the passenger door, which struck a parked car and was torn off.

"We need to secure the neutron bomb!" Jack shouted to the pilot and the TAC team on board the CTU chopper. "We don't know how much its been reprogrammed. If we use the missile option will the design withstand the blast? I need that bomb and its contols operable in order for the nuclear response teams to disarm it."  
"Yes, and we have missiles ready to fire at the vehicle on your orders!" the helicopter pilot informed Jack.  
"Got it," Jack said. He then took out a bullhorn as the helicopter flew low over the busy street, going right above the chopper.  
"This is the Counter Terrorist Unit, you will stop the car immediately or we are authorized to fire!" Jack said, then said in desperate frustration, "Dad, do you copy? Don't make me do this."

Kareem and Clyde exchanged a nod. "Allah abkar!" they shouted, then Kareem suddenly drove the van directly onto the sidewalk, crashing into a commercial building and sending pedestrians scrambling. The pilot panicked and fired one missile which raced after the car, striking a parked mail van and sending flames shooting high into the sky in a massive explosion, shattering glass everywhere and blowing several people through the air.  
"Dammit I told you to hold your fire!" Jack screamed at the pilot.  
"I'm sorry, sir, he was…"  
"Just get this chopper on the ground!"

"Jack, we are scrambling units to your position and we're pulling up schematics for the building!" Chloe shouted into her.  
"Chloe, I can handle the China thing if you…" Ray began.  
"Yeah, do that, Ray!" Chloe said with an impatient glare then Ray immediately got up and went up a set of stairs overlooking the main CTU-Europe command center.

HOUSTON, TEXAS (HOTEL AND AIRPORT)  
Split screen show the CTU assault team rushing through the acrid smoke and checking that the dazed civilians are alive, Heller and Williams in separate locations in the Marriott Renaissance Hotel, General Nakajima at the National Guard staging post, and Guardsmen approaching the demonstrators on the runway.

"Hey, I'm not warning you one more time!" the National Guard Major, James Swanson shouted into his bullhorn and microphone toward the first line of demonstrators, mainly Sunbelt Airlines flight attendants and other airline crew, but several media holdouts. "Hey, get that friggin camera out of here, the press area is by the terminal!" Major Swanson yelled, though close up his facial expression was one of hesitation and uncertainty as the troops met the demonstrators and set up a defensive line.

Among the demonstrators, a reporter from CNB networks was broadcasting and the feed was shown to a smiling Nate Williams, "…confrontation this morning as Texas National Guardsmen have set up what looks like, no other way to describe it, battle lines against Sunbelt's flight attendants…."  
There was some shoving as a group of aggressive soldiers tried to break through the human chain, and the camera focused on the desperate features on the Sunbelt employees, many of them young women. Then the screen split again between rubber bullets fired into the air and onto the ground on both sides of the crowd and scenes of the destruction in London.

LONDON  
A secondary explosion tore through the building, a bank and fencing club, brining down several columns which narrowly missed several CTU agents. Gunshots broke out and Jack twirled over some chairs and took out an Uzi machine gun, spraying three terrorists with gunfire, killing them instantly. Another terrorist popped out and a CTU agent took him down with several shots.  
Clyde and Kareem joined up with another group of terrorists.  
"That was too close!" Kareem said in Arabic to another terrorist, Samed al-Kawas.  
"Good thing we were roaming the area, Abdul Hamid should be here any time."

The emerged on the Thames Riverbank once more and a split screen showed Yaffa Abbas in a high tech control room.

"Humair, re-scramble our signals just in case the infidels are trying to track us," he ordered another Middle Eastern terrorist, who went to a computer and typed in several commands, a map appearing on the monitor zooming in on Europe and the Middle East. Suddenly, the switching node in Oman went offline and the next set of calls went through Syria.

CTU  
"What?" Chloe shouted, "This can't be possible, we lost all the transmission from Oman!"

Audrey went into an empty conference room and took out her cell phone, and Mandy appeared on a split screen in the emergency room in a hospital.  
"Mandy," Audrey said in a surprisingly pleasant voice given that it was a mercenary on the other side of the line, "As promised the money confiscated by the U.S. government has been reinstated to you, and negotiation regarding the banks in Cape Town are progressing well."  
"Good," Mandy said. "Everything is settled then."

Mandy moaned in pain as the doctor tried to get her off the phone. "Has Jack found the bomb yet?"  
Audrey looked at the chaotic scenes below her outside the conference room. "I don't see how this concerns you, Mandy. We're in the middle of a crisis and you are the last person I or anyone in CTU or DOD will trust being involved."  
"Chill out, Ms. Raines, I'm just curious if I could assist with anything now, now that we're in good terms. Besides, the doctor says I can't leave London in the next two days, so it would be in my best interest to help you stop McCourt if you haven't caught him yet."  
"I'm sorry, Mandy, but I really cannot get into this right now."  
She hung up.

HOBBY AIRPORT  
Several pellets shot out from the National Guard lines and shattered at the edge of the crowd, exploding into tear gas.  
"Sir, this is Sergeant Weber!" another uniformed Guardsman radioed to Captain Swanson, "We have the rubber bullets ready."

Several soldiers were heckling the protestors, who stood resolutely though several were in tears.  
"Please…we're just trying to keep our jobs, that's all! Our government can't just sell us out to China and leave us out to dry!" an attractive brunette flight attendant said into the camera.

Split screens showed various airport scenes with the flight attendants, reporters, and soldiers.  
"Tommy Van Fleet from Hobby Airport, the majority of the people you see here, many young woman, some with families to support as we've heard from interviews conducted earlier today, will be out on the street hours from now if the Heller Administration does nothing to block the deal, and the Chinese authorities have already announced victory in a news conference held by Premier Chang Xien-Jing in Beijing…."  
The camera continued to film as the reporter was taken by some overly aggressive soldiers and beaten with batons, some of the protestors getting the same treatment.

PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE, DOWNTOWN HOUSTON  
"…in mind these are not anarchists at the G8 Summit, they are ordinary working Americans desperate for their livelihoods in the face of aggressive foreign penetration of the U.S. economy…" a commentator said in the FOX News studio.

Most of the Guardsmen had sympathetic and hesitant expressions on them as they faced down the protestors, but some individuals became increasingly hostile.  
A young soldier smirked at the brunette who had been interviewed. "Hey!" he shouted at her as he grabbed her on the side of her torso, "Who says you need to fly? Maybe you got a kinky side you haven't discovered yet.You could make a good Hooters girl, a lot more money too!"  
"Shut up, you…"  
The soldier shoved her. "Or what, huh? I told ya'll to get the hell back!"

Several other Guardsmen subdued the one soldier but the images, and this exchange, had already been broadcasted live before there was some trampling and the news camera was smashed.

"Why are these troops engaging the demonstrators?" Heller demanded in rage.  
"Sir, I thought you gave the order…" Mike said.  
"I told them to have the troops ready in their staging area not to engage the crowd! Get the General in command on the line now!"

Mike dialed several numbers into the secure phone in the limousine.  
"What is it, Mike? Is there some problem?" Heller asked, looking at Mike's grave expression.  
"We can't reach them, the phones to the staging area are down. There's no way to withdraw…the orders he supposedly received from you, sir."

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA  
"I didn't know cable news could be so entertaining," David Tapper said with a sly glint in his eye, "This is working out better than we expected."  
Lynne Kresge smiled. "Those people probably voted for Heller and Novick anyway. They dug their own graves."  
Tapper nodded and spoke some more into his Blackberry. "Yes, Senator, the time is soon."

LONDON

"Over there!" Jack shouted as he and several CTU agents commandeered a speedboat docked by the riverbank, seeing Clyde's boat head toward the other bank along with other terrorists.  
He put the boat on top speed and the CTU agents took aim. Two terrorists wearing Arab kaffiyehs began firing mounted machine guns from one of the boats.

"Your father's not on that boat," Chloe said, "You can safety take it out. The bomb was loaded on the yellow one, the one second from the lead."  
"Copy!" Jack said, then turned to another agent. "Take them out."

The CTU TAC team took out a rocket launcher and fired a heat-seeking missile toward the boat the terrorists were firing from. The terrorist driving it swirved, crashing into a tugboat, explosion in a giant blast as the rocket struck the water, creating a huge splash that made several terrorist boats lose control.  
"Dammit!" Chloe said. The boats had crisscrossed one another in a different formation as they traveled downriver. There was no telling if the bomb had been exchanged and she relayed the news to Jack.

CTU  
"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, as a precautionary measure the U.S. military European Command has placed its troops under a Level Five alert and we are recommending British and NATO forces do the same."  
"With all due respect, Ms. Raines," Landsdowne's voice came from the other line, "We're talking about planning for an imminent full-scale war on our own soil!"  
"Our top commanders in the White House and the Pentagon have given us this assessment of the situation and we're basing our decisions off this. I'll have to get back to you."

On the river, sporadic gunfire continued to flash as two more helicopters scrambled to the scene. A speedboat loaded with terrorists crashed into a riverside café, scattering patrons and sending tables crashing through the glass windows of a restaurant, terrorists firing back fiercely and shouting slogans in Arabic. A rocket came from shore and Jack's boat swerved wildly, crashing into the outdoor seating area and causing the terrorists firing at them to be crushed under the propellers, but then the boat hit the top of a car and flew back out toward the water, exploding in midair and sending Jack skimming across the water in somersaults.

CTU suddenly lost contact.

…..3:00PM BRITISH TIME.

Disclaimer: In reference to the Hooters girl comment in the airport scene, actualy Hooters waitresses are not "sluts" and it is more of a normal restaurant and not like a strip bar or a gentlemen's club. My friend at my summer job hung out there a lot and apparently a lot of what people associate with the establishment are misconceptions. Hooters girls are just ordinary individuals and their uniforms are not especially revealing compared to many regular bars. Trying to pick up a Hooters girl is not any easier than trying to get with your waitress at Red Lobster or TGI Fridays'.


	25. Episode 24

Note: This is the season finale to "Season 6 Europe", first part

_Note: This is the season finale to "Season 6 Europe", first part. Following some advice I've decided to give this season 25 episodes since Jack gained an hour when he crossed a time zone between Paris and London. The story started at 5PM Western European time but will end 5PM British Isles time. _

EPISODE 24 (FIRST PART OF FINALE….NOT QUITE THE END…..)

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 3PM AND 4PM BRITISH ISLES TIME (8AM AND 9AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

THAMES RIVER, LONDON  
"Jack!!" Chloe shouted, but another CTU agent replied while taking cover.  
"He's in the water, I don't see him coming up!"  
Audrey stared at the screen in shock and was trembling, She put her hand in Chloe's and they sqeezed each other tightly.

Additional bouts of gunfire came from the far left as four more terrorists showed up. The CTU agent who was on the phone with Chloe aimed his pistol and fired four times, two of the bullet striking a terrorist, the man collapsing onto the ground while another was shot in the leg, screaming in Urdu. The CTU agent reloaded quickly and took him down, but he was shot and killed by another automatic burst.

The two remaining boats, including Clyde's, came forward, and terrorists furiously opened fire on anything that moved. CTU agents and civilians alike were mowed down by the screaming hostiles, many of them shouting "Allah Akbar" and "Iraq Abkar!" in Arabic and Urdu.

Jack swam toward the surface, seeing a bright burst of flame as one of CTU's rockets hit the water. He popped his ahead above the waterline and saw bullets and rockets whizzing by. A police patrol boat came and the terrorists fired two bazookas into its superstructure, triggering a chain of explosions whose shock wave propelled Jack back underwater with a splash. He began to swim quickly toward his father Clyde's boat.

Clyde reloaded amid hundreds of spent shell casings.  
"I need more ammo, Kareem!"  
The Afghan terrorist acknowledged and shouted to Abdul Hamid, a white convert. "Get the second cache up! Yallah! Yallah!" making wild gestures with his hand.  
Most of the CTU agents were down now but the police were showing up.

"Let's go!" Abdul Hamid shouted. He tossed the bomb onto the other boat which sailed off, and then a large barrage of fire was unleashed against the riverbank. Several CTU agents ran around engulfed in flames.  
Jack climbed on board the motorboat and saw an armed terrorist who suddenly turned around. Jack quickly charged him, forcing him to drop his gun into the river then tripped him.

The terrorist tried to call for backup but Jack kicked up in the mouth and the two struggled with each other under Jack got control of him and threw him into the water, the man being chopped apart by the boat's propeller blades.

"I think I heard something, you and Walim go and check out the back, I'll keep watch here with Masheed," Abdul Hamid said, making sure his Uzis were full loaded. Masheed, a female terrorist, had an AK-47 slung over her shoulder and fired several shots into the river to make sure nobody was approaching the boat, then scanned the area. "Clear for now."

Kareem heard the scream and immediately ran toward the rear of the boat but Jack had moved stealthily to the top of the superstructure containing the single bedroom on board. Jack went to the other side and saw another terrorist speaking into a beeper as he was rushing toward the back parallel to Kareem. Jack swung down with a knife, stabbing the man through the heart until the terrorist became limp and tossed his body overboard.

Clyde picked up his phone as he rang, and a split screen showed him and Yaffa Abbas with other terrorists in their command center.

"Do you have the bomb?"  
"No, we handed it off to Rashid al-Bengali. He is on his way to your base now. He has evaded the police for now.We have also managed to kill most of the British authorities who have come after us. Are you sure Humair will be able to reprogram the bomb?"  
"Yes, he is very familiar with this design. Clyde, I always knew you could be trusted. Good work over there."  
"Thank you, Sheikh Abbas, I am honored."

"Get back here as soon as you can, shaheed."  
"Of course. Inshallah."  
"Inshallah."

Jack grabbed Kareem's neck and snapped it, feeling the bones crack with a sickening sound, then took his gun and aimed it Masheed, who came around a corner. He quickly pulled the trigger, and two red spots appeared on her shirt before she fell overboard, staining the water bright red. Then Abdul Hamid came from behind and struck him with the butt of his gun, Jack toppling over onto the deck.

Clyde cocked the gun and walked over toward his son as the boat reached the riverbank near some office buildings and Jack was dragged behind a dumpster in a loading zone. Abdul Hamid took out a detonator as he saw British police approach the boat and blew up the C4 explosives he had set up belowdecks, killing the officers with a smile, thanking Allah.

"Jack, I warned you to get out of this city, and yet you are interfering with me. What, do you think you're going to bring me down?"  
"Dad, can you listen to yourself?" Jack demanded, his face contorted in pain, both physical and mental. "How can you just so casually kill all these people? Remember why you went into Yemen in the first place? And you," he said, looking at Abdul Hamid, "What are you doing with these raving psychotics?" Abdul was very young, no more than 25 years old, with curly brown hair and blue eyes and could have come out of an Old Navy catalogue.  
"Shut up!" Abdul screamed, kicking Jack in the stomach and pistol whipping him again

Clyde stepped forward. "I could have killed you many times today, but I'm giving you a chance since you're my son, and Audrey a chance because I want you to be happy with her, so you can go home to America with her. You were never supposed to find out I was alive or that I was going to be the one bringing the imperialist Western alliance to its knees."

"That's right, Jack," Abdul said with a hateful glare, a look more menacing than even the cold villains Jack had faced before. "Imagine, the much anticipated 2012 Olympics, and whoosh! Everyone in London dead within hours. The Dar-al-Islam will triumph against the nonbelievers. The world will learn what price will be paid for your desecration of our shrines by the U.S. military on the holy sands of Arabia, the plunder of our resources by American and European robber barons, the children murdered by your bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and your support for the Jews, the pigs and monkeys who spit upon our religion." While Marwan, Bierko, Henderson, and Kingsley all had a cold, impersonal demeaner and killed without mercy, his father and Abdul had pure hatred oozing out of their faces, barely able to explode from the deep rage that rested in their souls.

"Dad, remember the old days, huh? Remember tailgating in the Dodgers Stadium lot during every home game, with Mom? How would Mom feel if this is the kind of person…"  
"I would shut up if I were you, Jack. You're pushing my patience to its limits."  
"Remember Yemen?" Jack asked again, "Why you went there? Remember Ali Modiri? Sheikh Ravid fired rockets into his hotel room in Saudi Arabia and killed his entire family!"  
Clyde grabbed Jack's neck. "He was an infidel, an apostate who sided with the Crusaders! He deserved to die a traitor's death, and now he is burning in the fires of hell along with his family. I've been set on my path for the past six years. I've believed in Allah since the day your wife was killed, and nothing you say or do will change that."

Clyde let go of Jack and shoved him to the ground, discharging his gun several times on the ground around his son. "Jack, you have less than an hour before the bomb explodes. Now is your last chance to get yourself and Audrey out of the city. And as Allah is my witness, if you come after me again, I won't miss next time."  
Clyde and Abdul Hamid quickly ran to a waiting car and disappeared into the traffic.

CTU

Shari was looking at the picture from Jack's camera phone. "The man with Clyde is Abdul Hamid, formerly Bart Levinson, a Canadian citizen. Converted to Islam in prison where he was serving a term for driving the getaway car during a Walmart holdup in Edmonton where four people were killed. Trained in Afghanistan, besides that, nothing much."

CTU-EUROPE/LONDON HOSPITAL  
Audrey dialed the number to Mandy's phone again.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me, Audrey," Mandy said, not the bit uncomfortable about calling her by her first name. Audrey normally liked to be more chill and personalized, but not with this mercenary who had blown up a plane over the Californian desert, kidnapped Tony Almeida, and tried to kill David Palmer.

"I'm sorry for being abrupt earlier, but Jack has been captured by his father, who is a terrorist working with some of McCourt's allies."  
"Oh, really?" Mandy said in an amused voice, ignoring the nurses bandaging up her wound, "Of all people, the father of Jack Bauer."  
"We just found out he was planted in MI6 and CTU by the Mesopotamia Jihad Brigade, a terrorist group founded in Iraq with members from all over the Islamic world. We believe the bomb is either in their possession, or with that group's allies in Hezbollah's London faction."

Chloe saw Morris flirting with Shari again, and gave Morris a dirty look which he ignored. Shari didn't' see her and was still analyzing something on his computer screen.

PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE, DOWNTOWN HOUSTON  
"What do you mean there's no way to contact General Nakajima?" Heller demanded at his advisors as the limousine drove smoothly down Texas State Highway 288, racing away from the colorful glass skyline of downtown Houston in the background.

"We're trying our best, sir," Peter Ricardo-Sanchez said, "Someone must be impersonating you and they've cut all contacts with the staging area. There's also a breakdown of communications from Fort Hood to Hobby Airport as well. Jesus, what the hell is going on?"

Nate Williams was in another car in the motorcade talking to David Tapper, who was still at the Minneapolis golf course with Lynne Kresge sitting next to him on the clubhouse patio.  
"Heller's already suspecting something," Nate said nervously, fidgeting in his seat as he watched giant billboards, warehouses, and freight trucking facilities whiz by outside.  
"What do you expect, Nate?" Tapper asked, "James Heller is insane, but he's not stupid."  
"Just, how much longer do we have to keep this up, before we can unscramble the comms. This is dangerous to national security."

"Doubts I do hear," Tapper said, "Its not like terrorists are going to attack Houston in the next two hours, eh? It wont' be long, don't' worry. Once the engagement occurs we will call the military back, but Yarnal wants those bloody pictures on the front page of every newspaper in the nation, I want Americans, even the ignorant inbred, trailer trash rednecks in West Virginia and Montana as Yarnal puts it, to realize how evil James Heller is."  
"Just get this done quickly," Nate said uneasily. "Now the attempt on his life by Richard, would that give him sympathy votes or reflect poorly on him?"  
"One step at a time, Nate. Just don't screw up if you want your reward."  
Lynne Kresge looked at him and smiled. "Screw the rednecks and cowboys, in a few hours, the progressive voting blocs will have discovered how to defeat them."

CTU-EUROPE

"We need to get our teams airborne now," Audrey said, "I just talked to Mandy again and she's dealt with Hezbollah, Mesopotamia Jihad's primary ally of global reach outside Iraq besides al-Qaeda in Europe. They're based in Brixton and Finsbury Park, and that checks out with the movement of suspected terrorists from High Wycombe into those areas, all located in the East End, the Islamic portion of the city."  
"Are we sure about this?" Bill asked.

"Certain," Audrey replied, bringing up the display from her workstation onto a large screen. "As a freelancer she worked for Hezbollah in Lebanon but came to London to meet their leader, and they have this bunker under the city, a high-tech command center, and sympathizers all over the area."  
"The British government won't like this," Bill said simply.  
"I know," Audrey replied, "But yes, we're talking about a full-scale military operation in the East End."  
"Ok, Audrey, I'm going to get field ops to give me attack scenarios, along with British SAS and regular military forces. In the meantime, I need you to contact the Israelis and get them to send us everything they know about Hezbollah's operations in Britain."  
"Right away, Bill."

LONDON STREETS

Split screens showed scenes of the presidential motorcade on a Texan expressway, a CTU helicopter lifting off a rooftop with Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral in the background, Audrey at CTU-Europe, and Jack in the loading zone by the riverbank.

"He left you alive again?" Audrey asked.  
"Yeah, sweetheart. He says he wants me and you to leave the city, and that we have at most an hour before they trigger the bomb. Audrey, I don't think there's a way to talk him out of this," Jack told her with a grimace, "He's right. The operation in Yemen when he was captured took place before Operation Nightfall. He's been a jihadist since the day I first became a field agent at CTU. He finally found his calling in the Iraq War, fighting for the wrong side."

"Jack, I'm so sorry," Audrey said, feeling Jack's pain in his voice.  
"Audrey, I'd hate to think that you're staying in harm's way in the city because I am. I…I know I made a promise to you earlier today, and if it means I have to listen to my father and walk away from this, if we can fly out of London together…"  
"Jack, stop."  
"Sweetie, I'm on a provisional basis, I can resign when I want to."  
"Jack, we have a good idea of where the bomb is. Mandy told me. She's dealt with various Iraqi and Lebanese terrorist groups, including the ones involved today. Jack, I also swore an oath to this country, and while we may leave after today, this is our mission, and I believe in what we're doing."

Jack cursed and punched the side of a delivery van in intense frustration. "I don't know Audrey. All these years, you think we really made a difference? I can see us together, with our children…"  
"Jack, I'm alive because of you. Los Angeles exists because of you, millions of people across America are alive today because of what you, Chase, and everyone at CTU did, and I'm not going to walk away from my duty here at the last minute. President Palmer, Edgar, all those people killed by Wald and Bierko, if they were in your position, they would stick the course."

Jack was silent. "Its…"  
"I'm staying right here until the mission's over, and freedom isn't free, I know that. Perhaps I didn't always fully realize what it entailed, but I do now, and I want to be here to finish off this last mission. It's for our children, too Jack. I want our kids to grow up in a world where they don't have go to school or the mall every day not knowing if they're gonna make it home alive. I want them to go to school and pledge allegiance to a flag every day that reflects the values of people who knew what was right and fought for it. Jack, I know how bad it is for you. When Richard tried to kill my father this morning, I felt it, but I still believe in the things I believe it, and I still believe in you."

"Thanks, Audrey," Jack said, exhaling slowly, with a look of unsure determination replacing that of defeat and depression.  
"We owe this victory to Curtis, and every single federal agent, police officer, and soldier we've lost in this war. Let's do it for our children, Jack. Let's do it for us."

Jack paused for a good five seconds. "Get the helicopter here and update me on what Mandy's given you."

HOBBY AIRPORT, HOUSTON  
There was near chaos on the runway as the National Guard and Sunbelt employees were about to clash across the picket lines with news choppers buzzing overhead.  
"News Chopper 4, this is the Texas Air National Guard, you are in violation of federal restricted airspace," a military pilot radioed. "Proceed to your designated landing zone at the C Gates tarmac immediately."  
This was captured live on TV as soldiers brandishing machine guns flew over the ultramodern glass terminals of the airport.

General Nakajima was watching updates and video live feeds of the situation from his staging area set outside the United Express and Continental Airlines gates.  
"Major Swanson, the President has explicitly stated to use nonlethal force now to disperse the protestors."  
In the distance, a United Express DC-10 airliner was taxiing away from Gate B14 toward Runway 01, its nose turning with a police escort.

"We're on board United Express flight 355, the daily morning shuttle to San Antonio International, and privately the flight crew on board has shown sympathy for the protestors but are being ordered to takeoff by company headquarters under threats of losing their own jobs, and in an industry, and in an entire economy wracked by layoffs and foreign competition, this leaves them not much choice, this is Chester Wilde, CNN, Houston."

"This is out of control," the General said, "Give the order."

"This is Major Swanson, use the tear gas and the rubber bullets now!" the Major ordered his men, the radios cracking in multiple headsets. He himself had an unsure expression on his face.  
A split screen showed the police escorting the presidential motorcade toward the airport's main terminals, speeding through the parking lot, Heller still trying desperately to establish contact.

The news continued to flash inside the limo.  
"….showdown is imminent as protestors refuse to bulge and reports indicate the troops have taken offensive positions and are preparing their final engagement…."  
The camera zoomed in once more on the young women protesting in their airline uniforms.

"I…I cant' do that!" a Sergeant said.  
"What??" Swanson asked.  
"I…"  
Swanson sighed and could not get himself to repeat the order. The soldiers looked at the flight attendants carrying signs and forming he human barricade, and many of them eased their hands away from the rubber bullet guns. One by one, they stood down, pointing their weapons away from the protestors.  
"General, I…I can't follow that order, sir. I can't repeat that command," Swanson finally said.  
Nakajima looked once more at the screen at the flight attendants. "I understand, Major."

PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE  
"Troops are refusing the order to engage the demonstrators and it seems they are even joining the protestors," a reporter said in awe.  
The motorcade finally made it to the staging area.  
"Mr. President, I…my men are refusing to…"  
"Its okay, General," Heller said, "I never gave any such order. Tell your men to stand down. I want to find out where those commands came from, when you received them. We're going to get to the bottom of this."

LONDON

"Yeah, I have to go," Chloe said, donning a bulletproof vest. "The design says the bomb is hooked to a computer and nobody knows how they're reprogramming it."  
"I don't like it, but you have a point, Chloe," Bill said.  
"And…I want to be there with Jack, okay. Audrey I don't' mean it that way, Jack 's my friend and…."  
"It's alright," Audrey said with a smile, patting her on the back, "Just be careful. I'll take over your spot here for now."  
"Thanks!"

"Ok, Jack," Audrey said, sitting down in Chloe's chair at her workstation. "We'll be operating jointly with the SAS special forces as well as British Royal Air Force units on standby and the Royal Marines armored regiment at Sandhurst. We believe there is an exact two-block radius of tunnels and underground command centers in East End centered on the Finsbury Park Mosque operated jointly by Mesopotamia Jihad and Hezbollah."

HOBBY AIRPORT, HOUSTON

"Ok, Pete," the President said, turning away from Nakajima and reinterating his order to investigate the order.  
"Yes, sir, and air traffic control has grounded all flights temporarily from Hobby. All inbounding flights are being redirected to Bush Intercontinental and New Orleans."

The Chief of Staff gave Heller an update.  
"We've narrowed down the location of the neutron bomb to an Islamic district in London's East End, around Whitechapel, Brixton, and Finsbury Park, an area known for radicalism. Under the noses of the British government, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and other radical Islamist groups have set up militias in the area and we are expecting heavy combat."

"What kind of heavy combat?" Heller asked. "Comparable to CTU ops in the past?"  
"Worse, sir," Pete said, "We're working with the British military. We have a limited opportunity to insert special ops teams into the area and to fight their way to the bomb, and after the bomb is secure the regular military will move in to take out the remaining hostiles. This is going to be near the level of Afghanistan operations."  
"My God."

"Which brings me to another point, Mr. President," Pete continued. "The British Air Force will use F-16 Tomcat fighter jets in the city when we give them the green light, so to justify this action to the world the neutron bomb threat will have to be revealed. The British have made it clear to us. Therefore you can use your executive power to block this airline deal. If we threaten to make China's blackmail attempt public, they will have to clear Jack Bauer's name and cease their attempts to interfere in our economy."  
"Unfortunately, I don't think so," Heller said. "China cares sufficiently enough about setting this precedent that they're willing to argue their case in world courts. They can deny knowledge of the terrorist plot."

Pete nodded. "But the public must know our role in foiling the London attack. Hopefully it help us recover from whatever goodwill this mess may have caused us."  
"Let's hope so, Pete."

HEZBOLLAH COMPOUND, LONDON'S EAST END

Yaffa Abbas finished his prayers as the neutron bomb was delivered by the terrorists' chief engineer, Humair Tahir of Hezbollah. They were three stories aboveground in a steel-enclosed, hidden portion of a building near the mosque compound, to which they were connected by underground passageways. The window looked out to streets filled with residential row houses cluttered against each other and dilapidated storefronts with Arabic, Urdu, and Persian lettering.  
"Thank you for accepting our alliance, my brother," Yaffa said to Humair.

"It is only fitting, shaheed," Humair replied in Lebanese Arabic. "The divisions within us in Iraq are triggered by the imperialists who seek to divide and conquer us. The house of Islam stands united today, Sunni and Shiite, united in the turning point of the holy struggle."  
"It is my dream as well, mujahid. This is what we were born for. Every moment in my life, I have been preparing for today, and by the grace of God, it is here."

Humair opened up the computer attached to the neutron bomb and played around with the wiring.  
"The detonators have a minimum timing of 10 minutes. Its for the purpose of protection. See, these Christian infidels are cowards just like the Israelis, afraid to die by their own bombs as well as by the bullets of the mujahideen."  
Yaffa nodded as Clyde and Abdul Hamid also walked in.

SUNBELT AIRLINES HEADQUARTERS, HOUSTON/CTU-EUROPE  
The conference room overlooked the runways of Hobby Airport. Suz Novick, the lawyer Ingrams, and the delegation from Sunbelt sat across from the Air China representatives.  
"It's almost time," Huang Jin said, his body language giving out a feel of anticipation.

Suz Novick fingered her pockets and pressed several buttons on her cell phone, and the scene cut to Morris and Shari at CTU.

Ingrams got up. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a last minute bid by Southeast Airlines, just announced a few minutes ago. CEO Cliff Strattner is on videoconference call 1 from Southeast headquarters in Miami."

The screen opened up to show Strattner at his desk with the deep blue South Florida sky and the Miami beachfront stretching out behind.  
"Following intense discussion with our board of directors, I've decided to increase the bid to 10 billion," he said. This was 3 billion above the Chinese bid.

Huang Jin's eyes popped open in shock and took out his phone, speaking rapidly in Chinese, "Call Beijing, we need to know how to respond to this."

At CTU, Morris and Ray loaded the Carsolia into a computer via the cell phone memory chip stolen from the Chinese Embassy in London.

Huang Jin only heard static as he tried to connect the call. He turned to an aide and ordered to be patched through the Chinese Consulate in Houston. No luck.

……4PM BRITISH TIME

ONE MORE EPISODE TO GO. STAYED TUNED :)


	26. Episode 25

EPISODE 25 (SECOND PART OF FINALE…

EPISODE 25 (SECOND PART OF FINALE….THE CONCLUSION.)  
(Read previous post to understand justification for this "extra" episode.)

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 4PM AND 5PM BRITISH ISLES TIME (9AM AND 10AM CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME)

SUNBELT AIRLINES HEADQUARTERS, HOUSTON, TEXAS  
The President of Sunbelt Airlines faced his Dell laptop computer and signed with an electronic pen the document that was e-mailed from Florida via secure Internet connection. Cameras from the various domestic and foreign news agencies flashed dozens of times as he stood beaming along with Suz Novick, Ingrams, and the rest of the delegation.

On the screen, Cliff Strattner got up from his desk in his Florida office and addressed the cameras set up there.  
"I will be personally preparing a statement for the media, the American public, and the business community shortly, but first off, to assuage any doubts, I'm pledging to the former Sunbelt employees that nothing has changed except the source of your checks, and passenger service on all Sunbelt flights will resume immediately. And Suz," he added with a smile, "Enjoy your trip today."

Suz Kylie Novick smiled as she joined her boyfriend Jason Faulkner in the plush VIP lounge overlooking the air freight runway and maintenance hangars of Hobby Airport.  
"I guess I'll join you in California," he said, "I guess most of the passengers cancelled cause of all this hullabaloo."  
"Well, Jason," she said wryly, "You still gotta see the ticket agent, but, uh, you'll probably get your window seat, even you're in boarding party C. Hey, don't start, I know how you never confirm your ticket until like three hours before takeoff then whine like a kid."  
Suz Novick went back to her belongings from under the chair in the large conference room, took out her cell phone, and finally let the tears come. There was a mobile IM from "flygurl83".  
Sheila Cohen was dead, but Suz replied anyway, typing in, "its ok sheils. We won. I luv u grl, ur always going to be my bestest friend in the world." AIM Triton 8.0 flashed a window saying "flygurl83" was no longer logged in, but Suz knew that somewhere, somehow, Sheila was reading that message.

Then she softly reached into her bag and got her friend's flight attendant pin, walking back to Jason.  
"Before you board today, just make sure Sheila's family gets this, ok?"  
Jason looked at her sadly and slowly rubbed her chin, feeling the mix of exhaustion, victory, and sadness in her lovely green eyes. "Yeah, I'll do that. I promise."

A split screen showed Jack and several other CTU helicopters flying across the British sky, British RAF airmen running toward their fighter jets at a military base, Audrey and Bill in CTU, and Cheng Zhi in China.

HOBBY AIRPORT AND HARBIN, CHINA, NEAR THE RUSSIAN BORDER  
The screen switched back and worth between Novick in Houston and Cheng Zhi in China.  
The BBC News was on in the plush commanders' quarters in this northern Chinese army base, and Mike Novick was on the screen.  
"…acted without knowledge of President Heller after tendering my resignation to him half an hour ago. I admit wrongdoing in stealing campaign contributions from the air transport, Amtrak, and automobile industries worth 3 billion into my own personal account in Switzerland, then thereby transferring the funds to Southeast Airlines. I accept responsibility for my actions and apologize with deepest sincerity to the President, a man of unfaltering honor and righteousness who holds nothing more dear to his heart than the values and principles on which our great nation was built, and for the ordinary people of America…"  
This speech was punctured by cheers and people shouting in support of him.  
"Heller and Novick! 4 more years!" the former protestors and other civilians shouted.

The camera moved around the airport terminal, and a young professionally dressed black woman was quoted as saying Mike Novick was a man of great courage and that she hopes Heller pardons him. Cheng Zhi silenced the TV with his remote.

"Huang, how in blazes did this happen? We had everything covered. I sacrificed my revenge against Jack Bauer in the interest of our nation and this is what happens?"  
The screen cut to Huang Jin in the Sunbelt Airlines building. "I don't know," he said in Chinese, "I had recruited spies inside Strattner's company, but there was no indication Strattner would decide to do this, or that he was contacted by Novick."  
"Mike Novick, his daughter and Cliff Strattner should all pay for this. We can make them disappear, like we have done to many others," a Chinese man in a secret police uniform said eerily. "We have teams in Florida we can activate now and…"  
Cheng Zhi silenced him with a wave of the hand. "And then the CIA will be in Beijing, hunting us down, holding my family hostage. James Heller is capable of the most hideous deeds. He is worse than Palmer or anyone else. I need time to think about how to deal with this."

WHITECHAPEL DISTRICT, EAST END, LONDON  
The CTU helicopter approached the insertion zone, a sewage canal four blocks away from the edge of the large compound that covered several city blocks of the East End, a dilapidated neighborhood with rusty cars, trash-strewn streets, and graffiti filled walls.  
The helicopter landed and Jack, Chloe and other agents quickly swarmed into the tunnels, their PDAs with the layout of the hidden passageways and escape routes given to them by Mandy.

At CTU, satellite footage showed roving patrols of men in jeeps with automatic weapons barely hidden. There were few police in the streets in Whitechapel and Brixton. A Hezbollah patrol reported in Arabic over a phone to Yaffa.

"You should have killed your son, Clyde," Yaffa said.  
"He should be no trouble. I believe he is leaving the city with his girlfriend, unless something extraordinary changed his mind."  
"Let's hope you're right," Yaffa said unhappily.

"I am almost done with the bomb," Humair Tahir said in Arabic.

CTU  
"Our teams are inside the compound, the alarms have been disabled successfully," Shari said as Bill paced nervously around the control room.  
Audrey's screen contained radar maps of the positions of British aircraft taking off from Uxbridge RAF Base west of London.

EAST END, LONDON

Jack's team placed satchel charges and blasted through a wall, emerging in a crowded room filled with terrorists. Jack tossed two grenades inside and ducked back as a hail of bullets came back. All of the team members got out of the way in time as an explosion tore through the basement of the building, and as the smoke cleared Jack could see the burnt and blown up bodies of at least seven terrorists. He reloaded his AR33 assault rifle and holstered his Glock pistol

Jack charged up some stairs with his team, emerging on the ground floor. Above, a helicopter hovered over the roof of a masonry building as terrorists ran toward gun emplacements on the roof. Two terrorists went out of a stairwell but were cut down by the helicopter's gunner. Gunmen began firing from a fourth floor window across the street but the helicopter fired another missile which raced overhead and made contact, demolishing a quarter of the building and causing it to collapse onto the street below in a massive cloud of smoke and dust.

Alarms and voices in Arabic sounded across the Whitechapel-Brixton area and warning lights popped up in Yaffa's control room.  
"Rashid, make sure your men are ready in defensive positions," Yaffa ordered.  
"We are. They are sending two additional teams into the area but we have them in our sights."  
"Good. Take them out when you feel the time is right. Allah abkar!"

"The resistance is much heavier than anticipated!" the helicopter pilot radioed to CTU. "Requesting additional backup."  
"We copy," Bill said, "SAS in on the way."

"Jack, you have at most fifteen minutes to reach the bomb and secure it!" Audrey said as a split screen showed ten minutes left on the bomb's timer.

Soldiers and agents rapelled down from two helicopters onto separate rooftops as a backup SAS aircraft arrived. Rockets hit a terrorist gun position, but more hostiles seemed to come out of nowhere, firing heavy machine guns at the choppers, striking the blades and doors. Smoke billowed out of one chopper's engine and the pilot banked away, firing wildly but missing and killing a British soldier in friendly fire. The last three CTU agents were thrown roughly onto the rooftop as four Muslim terrorists came from the stairwell. A CTU agent held up a rocket but was shot to death before he could fire it. Another agent squeezed off a round, taking down two terrorists but the other two took turns ducking and shooting, and soon the entire CTU team was down.

"We took down the team landing in the east!" a terrorist radioed to Rashid al-Bengali.  
The terrorist peeked out a corner stairwell in another building, watching troops come under attack as terrorists set up a barricade. Ordinary citizens were joining the battle and Hezbollah distributed weapons from its massive caches to able-bodied young men choosing to fight.

Bullets from the helicopter tore through the masonry building as Jack started through what appeared to be a lobby area.  
"Yallah! Yallah!" he heard as windows broke into a thousand pieces and terrorists charged in firing wildly with automatic weapons and pistols. He heard a grenade and dove behind a couch, the explosion swallowing up several soldiers and injuring even more.  
One of the injured agents grabbed a dead terrorist's gun and blasted away at a kitchen in this dingy apartment. A terrorist appeared in the doorway to the study and Jack saw the man pull the pin on a grenade, quickly shooting him dead, the man crashing against the glass cabinet and plates shattering onto the floor. Then the grenade exploded and he heard the screams of several terrorists.

"It's that way!" Audrey said from CTU, watching the blinking positions of the various soldiers from her computer, which was also displayed on the large screens in the operations center. Bill was sweating profusely under the stress and Morris was trying to calm Shari down.

"Chloe, stay down!" Jack shouted as he charged into the study, where two injured terrorists drew weapons. Jack blasted both of them, their weapons flying out of their hands and their bodies twitching in spasms as blood and gore poured out of them like candy out of a piñata.

Chloe drew her weapon as the front door burst open and three terrorists appeared. She shot the first one through the heart and the other two backed down temporarily, taking potshots into the room. "We don't have time for them, Chloe!" Jack shouted, yanking her hand, "We need to get to the bomb upstairs!"

EAST END STREETS  
"Agent Bauer and his team have breached the mosque compound!" the SAS team leader shouted into the radio as a split screen showed Jack on a rooftop overhang over an Islamic-styled courtyard, the team laying down volleys of withering gunfire against enemies in the courtyard and tossing grenades, explosions tearing through the structure, breaking windows and sending cement walls crumbling to the ground. More terrorists were pouring into the streets outside, even worse than the scenes earlier in Paris given the East End's narrow streets.

A giant fireball rose in the horizon past the mosque as a CTU team was hit by a set of improvised explosive devices hidden under a manhole cover. Four out of the ten agents survived but immediately came under heavy fire. One agent crouched under a rusty old car but gunmen from the rooftop fired mercilessly until the car exploded, showering the area with more flames. Jack's team still had six men left after losing several in the previous gunfights.

Humair Tahir burst into the room where Jack had been and saw it littered with the bodies of terrorists. Above, Jack, Chloe and the other agents hopped onto the ledge of a brick tenement building attached to an ornate mosque. "The command center is in the midsection between these two structures!" Jack shouted.  
As they crouched by a fire escape, they engaged several hostiles on the street, spraying a terrorist patrol with gunfire and sending remaining civilians scrambling for cover. Thick plumes of smoke were now rising over the East End.

CTU  
A screen showed two missiles fired from a British jet strike a guardhouse in the mosque compound, demolishing it and terrorists looking dazed.  
"Jack, I think we've achieved the element of surprise and there's no additional activity around the command center."  
"Good, I'm going to split up my team, have us converge in the center."  
His PDA showed the target area on the third floor of the five-story buildings.

LONDON SKIES  
"Uxbridge Tower, this is Echo Seven-niner-five," the RAF pilot radioed as his F-16 Fighting Falcon jet careened across the sky at near supersonic speeds, "We are approaching the target area and awaiting further orders."  
"Roger, Echo seven niner five, stay in orbit around the target zone, maintaining heading 56 degrees from your current position to Finsbury and then…"

"This is not good," Morris said, looking at infrared images of the battle, "Additional forces are arriving from the south and north."  
"Jack, our teams are taking heavy fire!" the SAS leader screamed into his headset, "They're slaughtering us! You need to get the bomb now before…"  
He stopped talking as he glimpsed a Mideastern man reached for a detonator on his vest, shooting the man and triggering the bomb, which swallowed up several terrorists as the bomber's body blew through the windows of an Iranian restaurant. "We're low on ammo!"  
"We copy, just hang in there!" Jack shouted.

Jack's team had already split up and he led Chloe and others through to the second floor, which had wide, sun-lit hallways connecting the tenement to the mosque. A terrorist had set up a barricade far down the hall, firing wildly with his AK-47 at hip level and shouting Islamic slogans. The CTU team exchanged fire for ten seconds before one of them fired an explosive shell down the hall, striking the man. Jack saw him explode in flames and put two bullets in him to put him out of his misery. A split screen showed the SAS team hunkered down on the sidewalk behind parked cars, firing their M4 Carbines and Steyr Aug assault rifles at the terrorists. A Hezbollah fighter fell back screaming as he got hit.

Jack knew the buildings could not be demolished until the bomb was safety disarmed for sure. They fought their way past several more terrorists before they reached a high-tech bunker with gray walls and computerized equipment lining the hallways with signs written in Arabic.

Yaffa Abbas saw the control center had been breached and loaded his gun, shouting "Allah akbar" and ordering his men around with wild gestures.  
Humair Tahir typed furiously into the computer, locking a metal door.

"Dammit!" Jack yelled, banging on it.  
Chloe linked her PDA to the computerized locks and waited for CTU to send her a program that will override the terrorists'. Jack heard shouting in Arabic from below an adjacent stairwell and kicked open a door, firing his AR33 down into the abyss, hearing several screams and bodies hitting the ground. There was more shouting and two CTU agents used pistol and machine gun fire to drop three terrorists in Pakistani turbans.

The steel door finally opened and Jack and several agents emerged into the central core of the terrorist organization. A split screen showed Clyde ducking behind a window and firing at the SAS team outside. He threw a grenade, sending the SAS soldiers scrambling from behind the car. One soldier was injured by enemy fire and fell on the street, though he managed to turn his weapon around and kill two Hezbollah fighters as a medic rushed over, firing his own gun. Clyde killed a soldier with a pistol shot but retreated as a volley of gunfire found his perch and he rushed toward the control room, his eyes widening in shock and rage as he lost radio contact with Yaffa Abbas.

Jack saw the other CTU team approach the control room too and the teams together went in, blasting away at the terrorists inside. Jack personally took care of four more armed men. More explosions came and several of the CTU agents dropped dead. Jack squeezed the trigger on his AR33 and picked up an M-16 from a fallen comrade, seeing five terrorists die as they poured through a door above. "Chloe, hurry up!" he shouted.

EAST END, LONDON  
Rashid Al-Bengali stepped back behind the air conditioning unit on the adjacent rooftop of an Islamic academy as his men took up sniping positions throughout the building, rushing after the surviving CTU agents and British soldiers. Another helicopter came and landed more troops, this one an elite SAS squad.

Chloe overrode 3 firewalls on the computer attached to the neutron bomb and turned back with her pistol, killing an approaching terrorist. "Jack, I need you to cover me!" she screamed, her whole body trembling. Jack rushed up a spiral metal staircase to the top part of the control area. A terrorist popped out but Jack immediately blew his head off.  
"Ok, Jack, I got it! The program needs a minute to run its course but the bomb will be disarmed and they can airstrike this building!"  
"Chloe, get out of there!"

As she ran with another surviving CTU agent, Jack saw two terrorists appear in the doorway he had come out of and killed them with the AR33. He went back down the stairs and saw his father run into the room with a crazed expression on his face, mumbling prayers in Arabic. Then Yaffa Abbas himself emerged from a trapdoor above and aimed, but Jack kicked his gun away. The terrorist leader punched Jack in the face, but Jack stuck his leg out and kicked him against some controls, the man toppling over a chair, which he picked up and attacked Jack with. Jack dodged the attack and aimed but he was out of ammo with the AR33. Yaffa charged wildly but Jack kicked him in the groin then backfisted him, knocking him out as he banged his head against the metal pole. Jack wanted to finish him off but saw his father typing things into the computer, fruitlessly for the moment.

"Freeze!" Jack screamed, drawing his pistol, "Dad, move away from the bomb now! Don't make me do this!"  
Clyde was no longer responding. He aimed to fire at Jack but he was out of ammo just as Jack was with the assault rifle. Jack raised his pistol but closed his eyes, his fingers trembling.  
"Yaffa! Rashid!" Clyde said in Arabic into his Blackberry, "I'm getting something, I can override CTUs' program if I have more time, get more men here!"

Chloe screamed as bullets whizzed all around her as they went into a dark prayer room filled with columns, adjacent to a storage area. The other CTU agent engaged three hostiles in gunfire, taking one of them down but both he and Chloe ducked. Two more terrorists came, and the CTU agent could only take out one before he was shot in the back.

Humair Tahir motioned for his men to follow as he checked the dead CTU agent's body to make sure he was dead. "There's someone else, a woman, I think she went that way!" he said in Arabic, motioning for his men to sweep the area with their weapons ready.

"Jack, you can't shoot me because you know I'm right, you know my cause is just, and deep down, you know you should join me," Clyde said.  
Jack kicked away a chair, destroying a computer workstation in sparks. "You…I'm stronger than you think, dad. I've been through a lot of stuff too over the years. "China, Mexico, Bosnia, CTU!!"  
"Jack, there's still a chance for you," Clyde said, obviously shaken by the latest battle, "Take the oath of allegiance to Allah, for He is merciful and will forgive your sins if you commit to the Dar al-Islam and the cause of jihad."  
Jack fired three shots, including one that scrapped his father's arm. "This is OVER! STEP AWAY NOW. YOU WILL REGRET THIS!" There were now tears running down Jack's face. "Dad, look at me, there's gotta be another way."  
Clyde had a steely expression on his face as he manipulated the program. "Almost done…"

"JACK!" Chloe shouted, "I'm under attack, there are five hostiles converging on my position."  
Jack heard Chloe's voice in his ear but he was numb, looking at his father.

CTU  
"Jack, this is Audrey, Jack are you there??"  
"Yeah," he said shaken.  
"Chloe's under fire, you need to take your father down now!"  
"Audrey, stay out of this!" Jack shouted, nearly unnerved by the situation.  
"Jack…"  
"Bill, I said shut up, all of you."

Audrey squeezed her phone hard as her message traveled through to Jack's ear. "Jack, your father died ten years ago. The patriot, the CTU agent, is not coming back and you can't change the past. You lost your father the moment he was captured in Yemen! Its Sheik Ravid's fault, not yours, and there's nothing you can do. His death will not be on yours hands, it's on Ravid's."  
Jack didn't' seem to be listening as he cocked the gun, still not being able to pull the trigger as Clyde fumbled with the neutron bomb.  
"Ravid killed your real father, the man who raised you, and in his place came this …terrorist! But I'm telling you, if you don't snap into yourself right now, if Chloe dies, HER death WILL be on your hands, and you WILL regret it for the rest of your life, Jack. I don't want you to have to live with this! FOCUS, Jack!" Audrey was screaming.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, trembling as he fired a single shot that struck Clyde between the eyes, his father's lifeless body slumping over the neutron bomb and its attached laptop computer. Jack then rushed past Yaffa's unconscious form and emptied a gun clip on it, killing the rabid animal who stole his father from him all those years ago.

Jack rushed through the prayer room In the hall, he heard Humair shouting in Arabic.  
"Yallah! Yallah! Nazadine! Over there!" Humair barked.  
Jack picked up an AK-47 from a dead terrorist and opened fired from behind, striking three terrorists. A fourth one opened fired but Jack swung over a marble column and sprayed the area with bullets, several of them finding him. Jack rushed past the man moaning on the floor and blasted him in the chest.  
Humair fired several shots after Chloe as she fled down a dark corridor into an area of the mosque under construction. The floor gave way and Chloe tumbled several feet down into a pile of plaster. She fired two shots that struck Rashid's arm and leg, but then her gun jammed.  
"It's over, you American whore," Rashid said in Arabic as he raised his gun over the hole in the floor.  
"HEY!" Jack shouted, firing shots as he charged down the hall.  
Humair turned with several weapons blazing away, but Jack's guns spit out fire much more furiously, dozens of bullets discharging and all of them finding Rashid's heavyset body, the man falling down into the hole. Jack heard Chloe scream as she pushed the dead man's body off of her.

"All clear!"

Jack and Chloe kicked open a side door to a fire escape, where a British helicopter was waiting, the soldiers helping them on board as bullets hit the railing. Rashid and his terrorist force from Hezbollah were still in action, but once the helicopter lifted off and flew in the direction of CTU, at least ten missiles from the British jets circling the city unleashed their full fury, striking the mosque compound and surrounding terrorist-infested structures, imploding them and sending massive fireballs that rocked the entire East End of London.

Jack sobbed quietly in the chopper, holding Chloe, as the aircraft banked to the west, away from the thick black smoke rising into the sky. His father was dead, all the terrorists were dead, and it was all over. He was going home. He exchange a small smile with Chloe, both of them tearful, as the late afternoon sun sparkled on the River Thames and the majestic structures of Westminster, looking at the boaters, tourists, and locals walking and driving on the city's historic boulevards lined with cute little red phone booths and double decker buses.

HOBBY AIRPORT  
In the Sunbelt employees lounge, Suz Novick met with her father.  
"Oh, my Kylie," Mike said, embracing his daughter and rubbing her flight attendant pin.  
"Its going to okay, sweetie," he said, "Jim has already promised to pardon me of anything I'm ever convicted of stemming from this, so the Attorney General knows it's a lost cause."

"Dad," Suz said between tears, "I…I do what I do because I love it. I love being in the air, going places, meeting new people every day. But politics is your thing, and I can't bear to think you're giving up the White House just for me and my friends. You should be able to do what you love too."  
"It's not just that, Kylie," Mike said, "I've told Jim it would have been this way regardless. Pete's going to be Vice President now, and with a running mate with a last name of Ricardo-Sanchez, he just might have a shot at winning California. Kylie, all these years have made me realize something. I've always been advising presidents, but when I'm the one making decisions that affects millions of lives around the world, its different. I don't think I'm up to that."

"Really, dad?"  
He nodded. "Like Clint Eastwood once said, a man's gotta known his limitations."  
"So what now?" Suz asked making sure her pin was perfectly attached to her uniform, one that she would probably never wear again, though the Southeast ones were pleasant too.

"I'm going to fly with you to California along with Jim and the crew, endorse him, cook at the soup kitchen this afternoon, and if you can request to fly back two days from now instead of tonight, I'd say we spend a few days out there, go through the wine country, plus a day in San Francisco. And after that, well, I want to be here with you and your brothers, we're gonna go get those dinner breakfasts at IHOP like your mother used to do, and I'm going to watch my favorite daughter make it to the top of Southeast Airlines."  
"I'm your only daughter," she said, both of them laughing for the first time that day, "But you got my vote."  
"That's the one that really counts, Kylie," Mike said to her.

HARBIN, CHINA, ON THE RUSSIAN BORDER

"This is impossible," Cheng Zhi said in the phone to Premier Chang Xien-Jing in Beijing, "Wu's loyalty is unquestionable…what….he was summarily executed in London?? With all due respect, Comrade Paramount Leader, I have only acted in the best interests of China and…Wu was innocent, the Americans did everything, they framed him…"

"That may be, but intent does not equal results," the Chinese Premier said, "And the work of the Communist Revolution does not have room for mistakes. Not only have you allowed the Americans to get away with murdering Comrade Koo Yin, you destroyed everything we have spent years working toward. You will return to Beijing immediately to answer to us. The soldiers there will escort you to your plane."

"Comrade Paramount Leader, will you allow me just a few moments alone?"  
"Of course, Comrade Cheng."  
Cheng Zhi slowly walked into his private quarters and closed the door behind him. A single gunshot rang out, then the soldiers outside heard his body dropping and the gun clanging to the floor.

IN THE NEXT SEQUENCE TO THE END, THE SONG "FEELS LIKE TODAY" BY RASCAL FLATTS PLAYS AS THE ACTION GOES ON.

CTU EUROPE  
The helicopter landed on the rooftop helipad with London landmarks in the background as Audrey ran forward to meet Jack.  
"Jack, about Chloe and your father, I…." Audrey stammered.  
He squeezed her tight. "Thank you, Audrey, for everything. I couldn't have gone through today without you."  
The two embraced for an eternity before then walked down a stairwell and into the CTU operations center, where Chloe, Jack, and Audrey received a standing ovation.

Bill embraced Jack and patted him on the back, the first time the two had met face to face on this long, terrible, day.

SOUTHEAST AIRLINES FLIGHT 270

Suz Novick watched as the last passenger, Jason Faulkner, walked down the jetway.  
"Welcome abroad, sir," she said with a playful smile, shaking hands with him but also exchanging a quick kiss, the passengers who saw it smiling delightfully. Everyone recognized Suz Novick by now, and she was still wearing a Sunbelt uniform and this jet was still in Sunbelt colors. She tapped Jason's hand during the handshake and he looked down to see that the wedding ring was now on her finger.

SAN JACINTO NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD, OUTSIDE HOUSTON  
Kim Bauer was kneeling on the ground on the edge of a field with tall subtropical grasses. A black Chevy Suburban pulled up past some park ranger vehicles and Chase Edmunds rushed out, the two embracing as Angela licked a lollipop.  
"Thank God, Chase, I just heard my father, Chloe and Audrey are all fine."  
Chase smiled, "I know, I was briefed on the way here. Interesting place you chose to pray, Kim, as opposed to, you know, one of a dozen churches I passed on the way?"  
"It's something personal, it's hard to explain," Kim said.  
"It's all right, sweetheart, you've got a whole lifetime to do that."

"No, Chase, I…I want to start talking now, it's what Barry taught me. When my dad was in the military, he said that all soldiers are brothers, and that if I ever felt alone, if I was ever worried for him, he was never alone, and that the spirits of those who came before him were part of him, guiding him through whatever he had to do."  
Chase breathed in the warm air and nodded. "Yeah, my friend Eric in the Air Force, he said something about that."

Kim began to cry, letting her emotions out. She had wanted to be brave, to make her father proud, but she could not longer hold back the weight of the day anymore. "When I heard my dad was leading that team against the bomb outnumbered by all those enemy fighters, I didn't' know if I'd ever see him again and make things right with him, and I thought being in Texas, this was the place to ask those spirits. I remember learning in college history class about what happened right here at this spot, and these were just so exactly the spirits I needed looking after Dad."

Angela looked at her in wonder in innocence. "Why, Mommy? What happened here?"  
Chase looked at her with an embarrassed look on his face. "Yeah, never heard of this place before."  
"Isn't that beautiful, Angela? Both of them?" Kim asked, pointing to the Stars and Stripes and the Lone Star flag waving in the summer breeze.  
"Yes, Mommy."  
"You know why they're standing there now? Back in 1836, it was here that the American people of Texas won their freedom from Mexico. A general named Sam Houston, who the city is named after, led a force of American patriots against a Mexican army twice their size and defeated them in 18 minutes. Angela, this place is proof that when you're fighting for what's right, miracles can happen, and it did today."

Chase sat down next to her and rubbed her back gently. "Kim, you know, you never cease to amaze me. You dad's gonna be so proud of you. I can't think of any place better. Looks like old Sam Houston and his guys were with Jack all the way today."  
Kim smiled and squeezed her fiancee's hand.

Angela pointed to the towering San Jacinto monument. "Mommy, that's the Alamo, right?"  
"No, baby, that's in San Antonio."  
"My teacher said the Alamo is this legend about heroes too. I want to see it."  
Chase looked at her with a loving expression. "Actually, I think I've earned a couple days off, and there's a flight to San Antonio that got delayed this morning, and there might be some seats left. If we hustle, we just might be able to make it."  
"Yeah," Kim said, "I think we all earned a break. For like a whole year."

CTU EUROPE

Jack and Audrey stood together over Bill's desk as Jack signed his resignation form.  
Bill gave a tired smile and said, "If you need good references for your next job, you don't need to look any further."  
"Thanks, Bill, it's been an honor."  
"You…you're going to be back in L.A. once the Games end, right?"

"Yeah, at least for a while. We all need to get back together then, with the old crew and all. You know, this place will always be part of me wherever I go, and in the end its not Nina Meyers or Christopher Henderson I'll remember, its people like you, and Shari, everyone else who got us through days like this, and also the people who are no longer with us."  
"I know, Jack, I know. But working here, you realize every day is a gift, and I want you and Audrey to go to the Games tomorrow, relax, cheer on Team USA. That's an order."  
"Hey, I don't work for you anymore, Bill."  
"Well, just a piece of friendly advice then."

Morris went to embrace Chloe, but she turned away and shoved her hand in his face, Morris then looking dejected and going to Shari, who also looked at him with disgust.  
"Thanks for taking advantage of me during the crisis," she said, "Now get away from me. I can't believe you got me to hurt Chloe like that. Besides, if you're willing to dump her for me, you'll probably dump me for someone else."

Chloe and Shari exchanged a friendly smile, then Chloe walked over to Ray, who was shutting down his computer. He had a Toby Keith CD that he was putting away.  
"Now tell me TK isn't your password," she said with a smile.  
"Oh, no, I'm not that obvious," Ray replied. "You know, Chloe, maybe you should try out this CD, ya'know. Get to know the world outside Los Angeles."  
Chloe smiled as she took the CD from his, their hands softly brushing each other. "Maybe…..maybe…."

SOUTHEAST AIRLINES FLIGHT 270  
James Heller, Mike Novick, Suz Novick, and Peter Ricardo-Sanchez saluted solemnly out different plane windows as the flag-draped coffin of Agent Aaron Pierce was loaded into the cargo hold of the Boeing 737 jetliner by a military honor guard which fired a 21 gun salute.

Suz made eye contact with those three men sitting in Row 5 on the plane's left side and spoke into the intercom in the pleasant voice that made her so well loved by passengers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Sunb…Southeast Airlines flight 270 nonstop service to Oakland. My name's Suz and I'll be the head of the cabin crew here today. Our flight time to Oakland will be three hours and forty-five minutes and we'll be serving you refreshments once the captain turns off the seat belt sign. Currently in Oakland it is 65 degrees with winds out of the southwest, clear skies, a quintessentially California day if there ever is one. Once again, thank you for flying Southeast, and prepare for takeoff."

She took a seat near the front of the plane and a smile spread across her face as the Texan sunlight danced across it, illuminating her pretty features and she winked at her father. The jet sailed smoothly down the runway and took off toward the west.

CTU-EUROPE  
Jack and Audrey stood alone on the CTU rooftop, holding each other tightly. Their fingers crossed one another's as Jack gave his her an intimate embrace, their lips, then their tongues touching one another's, Audrey's blonde hair flickering in a light breeze.

The clock ticks away as the song ends.

….4:58…..4:59…..5:00PM BRITISH ISLES TIME.


	27. SEASON 7 PREQUEL

A missile races across the sky and hits a helicopter on a rooftop

/watch?vKTnOCqN8wtg

So here's the music to "Feels Like Today" by Rascal Flatts.

THIS IS THE PREQUEL TO SEASON 7: DARK FORCES. Season 7 will be posted after the finale of "Because You're You" is posted because the premiere has spoilers from that story. I don't know why there haven't been comments on that story yet since it was very popular on the original 24 website.

We open with shots of a large diplomatic compound with the oversized flag of a foreign country on top along with the hazy smoggy skyline of Los Angeles. The identity of this country is hidden for now so audiences will not rush into conclusions about the plot and bear with it as it happens.

A missile races across the sky and hits a helicopter on a rooftop. The helicopter explodes and men on rooftops and windows open fire with machine gun killing armed soldiers.

CHASE EDMUNDS fires a machine gun into the air above the heads of civilians in the consulate of a foreign country. "We're taking over this building! Shut up and get on the ground!!" A man curses at him and pulls out a weapon. Chase shoots him dead and turns his gun on another captured foreign soldier and executes him.

HENRY (Chase's accomplice into phone): We will execute one hostage every half hour until our demands are met.

A HERO WHO TURNED AGAINST EVERYTHING HE ONCE STOOD FOR

We see foreign students in an American high school gathered around a TV set seeing Chase Edmunds's terrorists executing hostages. A foreign militant leader is talking into a phone. We see massive violent protests in the streets of Los Angeles with police firing tear gas and protestors throwing rocks.

At a high school, foreign students attack several football players in a major brawl.

A convoy of vehicles filled with foreign terrorists goes into an industrial compound and open fire, killing many people who fight back but are all killed within seconds.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Harold Bernstein: "What we're seeing in LA now, I've seen before. I was in Bosnia before the factional fighting broke out and they were the last to believe it."

President James Heller: "If Los Angeles erupts today, the rest of the nation will follow."

AGENT TOM BAKER: "Dammit we cannot allow this. They have no right to send their calvalry onto American soil..."

Chloe O'Brien: Well obviously Heller didn't have a choice

A CITY TEARING ITSELF APART

We see a CTU Tac team assaulting a house and engaging in a firefight. Several foreign terrorists block off traffic on an LA freeway and open fire with rocket launchers and massacre motorists on the highway.

Chase: "Get the phosgene gas ready. Get ready for the assault."

Chase Edmunds is torturing a hostage and shoving a gun into the diplomat's mouth.

Chase: "No matter what I do to you today, its nothign comapred to everything I've been through the past two years, and today you and your country will pay the price for that."

Antoine (one of Chase's accomplices): We're going to show them whose country this is.

CTU CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

A military assault team with a battering ram and tank plow through some consulate walls and the hostage takers unleash a punishing barrage of automatic and propelled grenade fire.

There are shots fired on a freeway and we see long shots of cars exploding and flipping over multiple times as flames and sparks shoot out across the freeway.

Foreign terrorist: We're going to up the ante. We will give the Americans the fight they are looking for.

Foreign terrorists launch a rocket attack on a restuarant and steal weapons from a gun store.

Foreign Terrorist: "Unless the American terrorists and killers surrender themselves from our consulate, we will continue our reign of terror against this nation and its people."

THE ONLY HOPE...

Jack and Audrey are seen in a plush office kissing and Jack in a suit and tie and them picking up their kids as news of the crisis is heard.

IS THE MAN WHO SWORE HE WOULD NEVER RETURN

Jack is talkign in the phone to Chloe: "Chase?? Oh my God...so I'm in and out, right?"

Jack: "Audrey, I know I promsied you I left CTU for good."

Jack is inside a restaurant diving before a bartender, pushing a bartender to the floor to protect her and he takes a shotgun and opens fire as gunmen on motorcycles crash in and spray his direction with assault weapons.

We see a massive gunfight on the consulate grounds.

7 YEARS AGO, JACK FINALLY SETTLED DOWN WITH THE WOMAN HE LOVES AND FOUND A NEW BEGINNING

Heller to his advisors (shouting): We need to find out where this is going. Someone is helping these people. THere is something more to this."

Jack drives off the top of a multilevel parking garage on a motorcycle and lands on a car carrier.

Jack engages in hand-to-hand combat with hostiles on the car carrier.

A helicopter flies up a high rise as Jack dashes through the hallway. The helicopter opens fire into an office and glass shatters everywhere. The helicopter launches explosives. "We need to get you out of here!!"

Injured man: "This whole thing's a set up!!"

BUT THEN DAY 7 CAME

Jenny (Chase's accomplice): They just attacked a military recruiting station and a nursing home with car bombs. They're not to stop until we leave this building."

Henry: "That's a price we're going to have to pay."

Henry: JACK, I swear if you come any closer I will kill you. I don't think you remember what it means to love this country, and to fight for you believe in. I love this country, just like Chase does."

Jack is driving a motoryclce through a construction site as a man on another motorcycle is opening fire along with a Jeep which crashes through several buildings under construction. A bike crashes into a cement truck and flips over and explodes. A construction crane collapses and swings toward Jack as he rides his motorcycle. Jack skids across the dirt narrowly being hit.

AND A DAY CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING


End file.
